as in ministerial
of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy
majestically robed in priestly garments
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Recent Examples of priestly
This violence did little to deter upper-caste Hindus—namely Brahmins (the traditional priestly caste), Kshatriyas, (the warrior caste), and Banias (the trading caste)—from becoming BJP supporters.
—
Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 13 Apr. 2022
As a member of all the priestly colleges, the emperor was effectively the head of Roman religion as well as its chief priest.
—Mary Beard, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
However, as the services are allowed to utilize rings, prayers and priestly blessings, many are concerned the accommodations have effectively overruled this marital doctrine.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 17 Nov. 2023
Ireland has a mere 20 seminarians total, and much of Europe is seeing precipitous declines in priestly vocations as well as parish attendance.
—Tim Busch, National Review, 23 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for priestly
Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 13 Apr. 2022
As a member of all the priestly colleges, the emperor was effectively the head of Roman religion as well as its chief priest.
—Mary Beard, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
However, as the services are allowed to utilize rings, prayers and priestly blessings, many are concerned the accommodations have effectively overruled this marital doctrine.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 17 Nov. 2023
Ireland has a mere 20 seminarians total, and much of Europe is seeing precipitous declines in priestly vocations as well as parish attendance.
—Tim Busch, National Review, 23 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for priestly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for priestly
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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At the time, legal experts said that wasn't true, that the vice president's role in certification, even according to the original Electoral Count Act, was purely ministerial.—
Miles Parks,
NPR,
6 Jan. 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
Adjective
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Even after the 14th-century Black Death, clerical households with wives and children thrived in Italy.—
Joelle Rollo-Koster,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
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The contract was always only worth $8 million despite any clerical mistake.—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Priestly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/priestly. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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