monk

noun

Definition of monknext
as in friar

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of monk Leonard Cohen, who spent several years in a monastery, spoke of how part of the benefit of the experience was in being denied even momentary escape from the other monks. — Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025 The rosary, dating back to the Middle Ages and popularized in the 16th century, remains one of Christianity's most recognizable symbols—whether held by the faithful, hanging from monks' belts, or draped around rearview mirrors. — Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025 Every morning, the monks gathered there, arranging themselves on the long stone benches, to discuss the matters of the day. — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025 Unlike a synod of bishops, this will be a unique gathering of bishops, clergy, monks, friars, nuns and lay men and women. — Christopher Lamb, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for monk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monk
  1. friar
  2. monastic
  3. abbot
  4. mendicant
  5. cleric
  6. preacher
  7. bishop
  8. deacon
Noun
  • To get in touch with the miraculous Francis, the folkloric Francis, read the Fioretti, or The Little Flowers of St. Francis, a 14th-century collection of tales about the saint and his friars.
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
  • She will be expected to support communities including monks, nuns, and friars who live according to specific spiritual rules such as Benedictines and Franciscans.
    — Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
Definition of friar
Noun
  • While the Thai Buddhism depicted in The White Lotus is not completely realistic, there are several authentic ways to engage deeply with Buddhism, ranging from offering donations to short meditation retreats to ordination as a monastic.
    — Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Buddhist organizations, whose members are also known to skew older, have been trying to connect with younger people by updating the image of monastics, usually known for their no-nonsense asceticism.
    — Koh Ewe, TIME, 13 May 2024
Definition of monastic
Noun
  • When Kaldi shared the berries with an abbot of a local monastery, the monk ended up wide awake during the evening prayers.
    — Marta Zaraska, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Most of it comes from the town abbot who, in frequent scenes set in the nearby woods, always seems to be drifting into view with his basket of precious mushrooms, whenever Jérémie is near.
    — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025
Definition of abbot
Noun
  • In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
    — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
  • All these words strike me as vaguely offensive except for mendicant and supplicant.
    — Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
Definition of mendicant
Noun
  • In May 2023, Attorney General Kwame Raoul published a 696-page report, which found that over about seven decades, at least 1,997 children have been abused by 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers across the state’s dioceses.
    — Natalie Demaree, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Catholic clerics and laity have faithfully gathered each night in St. Peter’s Square to recite the rosary for the sake of the pope, being led in their prayer by members of the College of Cardinals.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 1 Mar. 2025
Definition of cleric
Noun
  • On the March 30 episode of the show, teenage contestant — and aspiring preacher — Canaan James Hill took the judges to church with his audition for the show, leaving Lionel Richie in particular stunned.
    — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 31 Mar. 2025
  • And the battles continue under Johan’s 58-year-old nephew Erik af Klint—named after his grandfather—a medical doctor and Christian preacher who heads the board today.
    — Jay Cheshes, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of preacher
Noun
  • Some clutched rosaries, others took selfies or touched the protective glass in front of the seemingly sleeping young man, who died of leukemia at 15 in 2006 and is generating a devotion that astonishes even Assisi’s bishop.
    — Time, Time, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Last month, days before his hospitalization, Pope Francis penned a letter to U.S. bishops that criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
Definition of bishop
Noun
  • Dixon, an administrator with the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and a deacon at Second Baptist Church, is seeking a third term.
    — Courier-News, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Peter & Paul parishioners say are flatly false, including an unfounded claim that the deacon has a criminal record and was once sentenced to 30 days in jail.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of deacon

Browse Nearby Words

monitory
monk
monkey
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Monk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monk. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.

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Nglish: Translation of monk for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about monk

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