anticlerical

adjective

an·​ti·​cler·​i·​cal
ˌan-tē-ˈkler-i-kəl,
ˌan-ˌtī- How to pronounce anticlerical (audio)
: opposed to clericalism or to the interference or influence of the clergy in secular affairs
anticlerical noun
anticlericalism
ˌan-tē-ˈkler-i-kə-ˌli-zəm
ˌan-ˌtī- How to pronounce anticlerical (audio)
noun

Examples of anticlerical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 1910, France was in an uproar over recent anticlerical legislation that had led to the closure of many Catholic schools and monasteries. Rosanna Warren, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024 But its priests have historically been constrained by the anticlerical policies that took root during the 19th-century war of independence from Spain. Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024 Assisting him in the enterprise were heteronyms such as Carlos Otto, who translated detective fiction, Joaquim Moura-Costa, the author of an anticlerical lampoon, and Vicente Guedes, who later added pages to The Book of Disquiet. Benjamin Kunkel, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021 Champollion was brash, romantic, outspoken, anticlerical, and antimonarchist. Ursula Lindsey, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2021 The radical left, though, has always been violently anticlerical. Dominic Green, WSJ, 26 Sep. 2020 In the years since the 2015 attack, Charlie Hebdo, an heir to a long tradition of French anticlerical irreverence, has become a national symbol. James McAuley, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2020 And though many of the tougher anticlerical laws have been eased in modern times, church-state separation remains entrenched as a core political concept. Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2019 Though witches have most often been treated throughout history as evil in both fiction and in real life, sentiments began to change in the 19th century as anticlerical, individualist values took hold across Europe. Pam Grossman, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1759, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anticlerical was in 1759

Dictionary Entries Near anticlerical

Cite this Entry

“Anticlerical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anticlerical. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!