ecclesiastic
/ɪˌkliːzɪˈastɪk
/formal
noun
A priest or member of the clergy.Frequently visited by princes and high ecclesiastics, the monastery soon became famous....
- A major problem is the lack of priests and other ecclesiastics, whose numbers declined drastically during the Soviet period.
- Ranking ecclesiastics took up the time of U.S. decision makers, badgering them about whether they had thought of this possible consequence or that.
Synonyms
clergyman, clergywoman, priest, churchman, churchwoman, man/woman of the cloth, man/woman of God, cleric, minister, preacher, chaplain, father;
divine, theologian;
bishop, pastor, vicar, rector, parson, (assistant) curate, deacon, deaconess;
Scottish kirkman;
French abbé, curé;
North American dominie
informal reverend, padre, Holy Joe, sky pilot
Australian informal josser
informal, derogatory Bible-basher, God-botherer
adjective
another term for ecclesiastical.The artists here draw on a legacy that includes ecclesiastic art, church murals, icons and silver crosses to create works in a modern vernacular....
- The city's East Side, where Eastern European immigrants conceived grandiose works of ecclesiastic architecture before moving to neighboring suburbs like West Seneca and Cheektowaga, is inhabited largely by African Americans.
- But reports such as these were relatively few, and serious ecclesiastic authorities sought to distance themselves from such improbable tales of celestial intervention in the election campaign.
Origin
Late Middle English: from French ecclésiastique, or via late Latin from Greek ekklēsiastikos, from ekklēsiastēs 'member of an assembly', from ekklēsia 'assembly, church', based on ekkalein 'summon out'.