as in ministerial
of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy
clerical duties such as providing spiritual counseling and leading Bible study classes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in priest
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
some of the state's most prominent clericals have spoken out against the measure
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clerical
Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025
In New York City, the use of uniformed officers for clerical work is particularly concerning, given that major crime is up a third from pre-pandemic levels, while the NYPD’s uniformed headcount is down 9%.
—Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2025
Powerbrokers within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the clerical establishment have had years to prepare for succession.
—Ian Bremmer, TIME, 2 Feb. 2025
Another is among the voters who claim that their registration application was filled out correctly and that a clerical error is likely to blame.
—Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clerical
Adjective
However, due to a clerical error, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges without prejudice, allowing for the case to be refiled if new evidence surfaced.
—Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025
In New York City, the use of uniformed officers for clerical work is particularly concerning, given that major crime is up a third from pre-pandemic levels, while the NYPD’s uniformed headcount is down 9%.
—Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2025
Powerbrokers within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the clerical establishment have had years to prepare for succession.
—Ian Bremmer, TIME, 2 Feb. 2025
Another is among the voters who claim that their registration application was filled out correctly and that a clerical error is likely to blame.
—Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clerical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clerical
Adjective
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Lebanon’s system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.—
Reuters,
NBC News,
9 Jan. 2025
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Dominic LeBlanc has since been appointed to succeed her and head the finance ministerial portfolio.—
Ruxandra Iordache,
CNBC,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Within the faith there’s no real hierarchy; there are no popes, priests or clergy.—
Peter Kiefer,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Feb. 2025
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In an interview with Vatican News, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family, the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza, says Pope Francis has called from the hospital at 8 p.m. Gaza time every night.—
Ruth Sherlock,
NPR,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The difference is that Frost’s poems are mourning not a friend but the pastoral life the poet has left behind, and mourning, too, his eldest child, Elliott, who died at age three, of cholera, in 1900.—
Maggie Doherty,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
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But McDonald said Catholic schools remain committed to their pastoral mission, and lay teachers share that commitment.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA TODAY,
23 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Each celebrates a matriarch who was present at the Sunday dinners of Hall’s childhood, including her maternal grandmother, Celestine, to a close family friend, Miss Sally, to the preacher’s wife, Mrs. Brooks.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2025
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There’s also Anthony Perkins as a madman in a preacher’s robe who is obsessed with China Blue.—
Jordan Crucchiola,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Mojtaba’s rise, or the rise of any other cleric, will thus prompt the country’s people to further pressure Tehran.—
Akbar Ganji,
Foreign Affairs,
13 Feb. 2025
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Many Christian clerics and secular rulers in western Europe believed that the popes needed to return to Rome, to distance papal authority from French influence.—
Joanne M. Pierce,
The Conversation,
28 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clerical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clerical. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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