variants
or ancress
as in prioress
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Recent Examples of anchoress
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
Some of the spotlighted individuals, like St. Catherine of Siena and English anchoress Julian of Norwich, were celebrated in their day as visionaries, while others, including Kempe and Joan of Arc, were persecuted as heretics.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
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
Some of the spotlighted individuals, like St. Catherine of Siena and English anchoress Julian of Norwich, were celebrated in their day as visionaries, while others, including Kempe and Joan of Arc, were persecuted as heretics.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anchoress
Noun
-
After Robin is gravely injured, he is taken in by the sage prioress Brigid (Jodie Comer), who nurses him back to health at an island convent.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Hildegard was a Catholic abbess of the Benedictine Order.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
-
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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As a young religious, Bishop-elect Lombardo did missionary work in Bolivia and Honduras.—
Laura Rodríguez Presa,
chicagotribune.com,
11 Sep. 2020
Noun
-
In Disclosure Day, Jane’s worrying is curious, coming from someone who meant to become a nun.—
Luis Parrales,
The Atlantic,
18 June 2026
-
And these encouraging words that my nun gave me actually started the trajectory of my entire life.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Once a year, Akagawa takes the letters to a nearby Buddhist temple, where a monk prays over them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
-
The award-winning scholar was the first American ordained as a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition after studying under the 14th Dalai Lama, close friend Tenzin Gyatso, as noted in a 1996 New York Times profile.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
Noun
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These people who see the theater as almost a monastic calling something of a higher order, and they’re brilliantly educated and funny.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
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As the numbers of women at the highest echelons of learning continue to grow, women will likewise expand their ability to take leadership roles in their monastic and lay communities – helping to improve other nuns’ education and protecting Tibetan culture in the process.—
Darcie Price-Wallace,
The Conversation,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Fra Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who was a medieval Italian Franciscan friar and explorer in 1244 went to Mongolia [as a papal ambassador].—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
13 June 2026
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The storied residence was first commissioned in 1712 by Anna Gravina, Princess of Gravina and Valguarnera, and it's also attributed to Dominican friar and architect Tommaso Maria Napoli.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
Noun
-
This makes these spots good for young anglers and novices as well as those with mobility challenges.—
Kaitlyn Keegan,
Hartford Courant,
19 June 2026
-
Democrats in Maine, meanwhile, have nominated Graham Platner, a political novice whose grassroots campaign and brash communication style propelled him to a decisive victory over the state’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, who remained on the ballot but suspended her campaign in April.—
Charlie Hunt,
The Conversation,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anchoress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anchoress. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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