as in abbess
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Recent Examples of prioress
Marie, who becomes the prioress of the abbey at 17, begins a rise to power — or as much power as a woman is permitted — using her fellow nuns to fight off political and violent incursions.
—
Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Matrix by Lauren Groff Currents of violence and devotion coalesce around Marie de France, a 17-year-old sent to be the new prioress of a 12th-century English abbey.
—Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 7 July 2025
In response, the diocese said in a statement that the Holy See has acted toward healing the Arlington Carmel and the nuns in the community and not simply the former prioress and her former councilors.
—Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
For the senior members of the order — two successive prioresses and the conflicted but maternal assistant prioress, Mother Marie — the role of self-abnegation is a deep moral mystery, one that takes a lifetime to fully understand.
—Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2022
Seventeen-year-old Marie de France is cast out of the royal court to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey in medieval Europe and finds purpose and love in her newfound devotion to the sisters.
—Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2021
It’s set in the twelfth century, and is about a young Frenchwoman, Marie de France, the illegitimate offspring of royalty, who is sent to England by Eleanor of Aquitaine and becomes the prioress of an abbey.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2021
Siemen is the order's prioress, or leader.
—Laura Ly and Theresa Waldrop, CNN, 30 Jan. 2021
Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Matrix by Lauren Groff Currents of violence and devotion coalesce around Marie de France, a 17-year-old sent to be the new prioress of a 12th-century English abbey.
—Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 7 July 2025
In response, the diocese said in a statement that the Holy See has acted toward healing the Arlington Carmel and the nuns in the community and not simply the former prioress and her former councilors.
—Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
For the senior members of the order — two successive prioresses and the conflicted but maternal assistant prioress, Mother Marie — the role of self-abnegation is a deep moral mystery, one that takes a lifetime to fully understand.
—Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2022
Seventeen-year-old Marie de France is cast out of the royal court to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey in medieval Europe and finds purpose and love in her newfound devotion to the sisters.
—Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2021
It’s set in the twelfth century, and is about a young Frenchwoman, Marie de France, the illegitimate offspring of royalty, who is sent to England by Eleanor of Aquitaine and becomes the prioress of an abbey.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2021
Siemen is the order's prioress, or leader.
—Laura Ly and Theresa Waldrop, CNN, 30 Jan. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prioress
Noun
-
Hildegard was a Catholic abbess of the Benedictine Order.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
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Now, thanks to a greater emphasis on women’s education in recent years, Tibetan Buddhist nuns are increasingly becoming teachers and abbesses.—
Darcie Price-Wallace,
The Conversation,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the medieval church, women’s roles were limited – usually some form of enclosure and celibacy, such as becoming an anchoress walled up alone for life, or a nun in a classic convent.—
Joelle Rollo-Koster,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Louise, a former anchoress, is her humble, tyrannical maid.—
Hervé Guibert,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Arcangela Tarabotti, a seventeenth-century Venetian nun who was put into a convent against her will, wrote a critique of coerced enclosure that begins by eviscerating the idea that men are by nature superior to women.—
Chandler Fritz,
The New York Review of Books,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Alfonso’s nun in her Balenciaga stared out at me dolled up in mine.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
After years of working in his garden, the former novice has figured out what grows well in his yard’s different spots.—
Lisa Boone,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
In China, OpenClaw has received a particularly fervent welcome among AI enthusiasts and novices alike.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As a young religious, Bishop-elect Lombardo did missionary work in Bolivia and Honduras.—
Laura Rodríguez Presa,
chicagotribune.com,
11 Sep. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Prioress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prioress. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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