as in priests
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church as the leading ecclesiastic for his church in the state, the bishop must be beyond reproach in everything he does
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesiastics
Noun
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An Alameda County jury on Wednesday delivered a $16 million judgment against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, in a key lawsuit that could have far-reaching consequences for both the church and for hundreds of people claiming decades of abuse by its priests.—
Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
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In Colina, Chile, pilgrims on horseback took part in the Quasimodo Feast, a procession held the Sunday following Easter, accompanying priests giving communion to the poor.— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.— Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
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This type of apocalyptic thought has roots in the 19th century, when many American preachers turned toward more literal readings of the Bible.— Shalom Goldman, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Analysts and clerics are keen to stress the overall importance of this visit to the continent.— Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2026
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Leo spoke during a gathering of top bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, an Eastern Rite Catholic church whose clerics are in Rome to elect a new patriarch.— Brian Dakss, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ecclesiastics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/ecclesiastics. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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