as in clergyman
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Recent Examples of deaconess
Then in 1964, Parks became a deaconess in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
—
Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Born in a homestead just north of the D.C. border in 1930 and 1933, the brothers were raised in historic St. Phillips Baptist Church, where their father was an associate minister and their mother a deaconess.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
The Pauline epistles contain numerous references to women who were instrumental in the leadership of the early church: Phoebe, a deaconess; Chloe; Apphia; Euodia; Nympha; Junia.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
In her younger years, Webb was an avid churchgoer in Baltimore, Maryland alongside her father, a deacon, and her mother, a deaconess, who met in a church choir.
—Robyn Mowatt, ELLE, 22 June 2023
Welcome to the Rehearsal Club, an artist residency and the one-year-old reincarnation of a nonprofit organization founded in 1913 by Jane Harriss Hall, an Episcopal deaconess, and Jean Greer, the daughter of New York’s Episcopal bishop.
—Joanne Kaufman, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2023
More recently, a Nov. 15, 2021 issue of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel noted that in 2017, Israeli archaeologists uncovered stones and mosaics memorializing Theodosia the deaconess and Gregoria the deaconess in the ruins of a 1,600-year-old basilica in Ashdod.
—Susan Degrane, chicagotribune.com, 30 Mar. 2022
Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Born in a homestead just north of the D.C. border in 1930 and 1933, the brothers were raised in historic St. Phillips Baptist Church, where their father was an associate minister and their mother a deaconess.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
The Pauline epistles contain numerous references to women who were instrumental in the leadership of the early church: Phoebe, a deaconess; Chloe; Apphia; Euodia; Nympha; Junia.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
In her younger years, Webb was an avid churchgoer in Baltimore, Maryland alongside her father, a deacon, and her mother, a deaconess, who met in a church choir.
—Robyn Mowatt, ELLE, 22 June 2023
Welcome to the Rehearsal Club, an artist residency and the one-year-old reincarnation of a nonprofit organization founded in 1913 by Jane Harriss Hall, an Episcopal deaconess, and Jean Greer, the daughter of New York’s Episcopal bishop.
—Joanne Kaufman, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2023
More recently, a Nov. 15, 2021 issue of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel noted that in 2017, Israeli archaeologists uncovered stones and mosaics memorializing Theodosia the deaconess and Gregoria the deaconess in the ruins of a 1,600-year-old basilica in Ashdod.
—Susan Degrane, chicagotribune.com, 30 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deaconess
Noun
-
Robin, our hero, is the son of a country clergyman.—
John Swansburg,
The Atlantic,
15 June 2026
-
The trio of vicars starts with James Norton as Sidney Chambers, the doe-eyed clergyman with a taste for cool jazz and clever women.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
14 June 2026
Noun
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Centuries ago, people throughout the Mediterranean region came to consult it via the Pythia or priestess to see what the Greek god Apollo had to say about their future.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
8 June 2026
-
The priestess worked only during days in which Apollo was believed to be present at Delphi to channel his wisdom to the Pythia.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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When there’s a big medical bill, the deacon, or maybe some sort of committee, a small committee within the church, try to pull some funds together to pay for it.—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
6 June 2026
-
Titian painted Saint Lawrence—a third-century church deacon who was slow-roasted for defying Roman authorities—bound to a palette over a sizzling fire, while a man thrusts a long, forked skewer into his torso.—
Sebastian Smee,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
An artist and performer, Skrepetsky gained notice with his cutting portraits of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and a conservative Moscow bishop, Patriarch Kirill.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
17 June 2026
-
The bishop was among 34 individuals and 47 entities that EU countries added to a Russia sanctions list Monday.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
Noun
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This would be the case also for an apostate, heretic, schismatic bishop, presbyter, or deacon.—
Fr. Goran Jovicic,
National Review,
13 June 2021
-
The Rev. Allen D. Timm, executive presbyter of the Presbytery Church in Detroit, said the church is waiting to hear from the general assembly as to when volunteers will be dispatched to Houston.—
Allie Gross,
Detroit Free Press,
29 Aug. 2017
Noun
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Pageants, deans' lists, graduations or military enlistments are not accepted.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 June 2026
-
Before serving as president of the University of Alabama, Bell served as provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University and as dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas.—
Ana Goñi-Lessan,
Sun Sentinel,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
Patterson, an ordained clergywoman with a background in healthcare, joined the Legislature via a special election in 2020.—
oregonlive,
oregonlive,
8 Nov. 2022
Noun
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Meanwhile, churchmen claimed the authority to restrain violence, encouraged just wars and threatened violent behaviors with spiritual sanctions.—
Joëlle Rollo-Koster,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Not all birth rituals depended on the intercession of a saint or the authority of a churchman.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deaconess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deaconess. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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