as in beggar
a person who lives by public begging
those wretched mendicants on the streets of Calcutta
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in monastic
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Dissimilar Words
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Recent Examples of mendicant
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
His eyes alternated between the mendicant and Bob.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
Guido eventually became a Dominican friar, dedicating himself to making art within the mendicant order; after his death, in 1455, he became known as Fra Angelico, or the Angelic Friar.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
Unlike monks who withdrew from ordinary life, mendicants stressed a life of poverty, spent in travel from town to town to preach and help the poor.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But both mendicant and supplicant have a religious connotation.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Noun
But those states also have Republican governors, who would have raised holy hell if their constituents had been menaced by these roving mobs of mendicants.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
His eyes alternated between the mendicant and Bob.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
Guido eventually became a Dominican friar, dedicating himself to making art within the mendicant order; after his death, in 1455, he became known as Fra Angelico, or the Angelic Friar.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
Unlike monks who withdrew from ordinary life, mendicants stressed a life of poverty, spent in travel from town to town to preach and help the poor.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But both mendicant and supplicant have a religious connotation.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
Adjective
One was that literary journalism anthology the mendicant had flipped through.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendicant
Noun
-
Hollywood turned him into a beggar.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
-
In the old days beggars were drawn and quartered in that square.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The spa preserves the monastic tradition of herbal medicine, reflecting the balanced relationship between ora et labora ('pray and work' in Latin), or between being active and resting.—
Jenn Rice,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Wood is one of 2026’s biggest interior trends—and central to the monastic look.—
Hannah Coates,
Vogue,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But degraded conventual forces could drive Putin to other means of exerting force.—
Matt Seyler,
ABC News,
10 May 2022
-
The Rev. Brad Heckathorne, a Conventual Franciscan friar, performed the ceremony at the chapel at Duke University.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2017
Adjective
-
Some religious communities bar menstruating women from common living areas, said Ahsan.—
Sana Noor Haq,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The measure would allow some exemptions, including for officers involved in undercover operations and SWAT duties or who are wearing religious garb.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The venue itself is sexy and luxurious, and the food is, in a word, divine.—
Kelsey Stiegman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
-
According to the Dera, Singh’s ascent to power is a story of divine anointment.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
With light slanting in from a row of windows eight stories above the floor, and an immense vault above, the drill hall has a sacramental feel.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Audiences could think of it as a pilgrimage to visit a holy relic — or its own act of sacramental theater.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
19 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mendicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mendicant. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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