nun

noun

Definition of nunnext
as in abbess

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 nun Directly inside the entrance, there’s a chapel still presided over by three nuns with details including angels that were added to the niches when the original sculptures were removed during Napoleon’s reign. — Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2025 The nuns, identified as Sister Evanette Onezaire and Sister Jeanne Voltaire, were working at the National School in Mirebalais and had taken refuge in a house along with a young girl. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025 Precept nuns are believed to have existed for centuries, but without a clear origin. — Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025 Written and directed by Warwick Thornton, the Australian filmmaker behind titles like Sweet Country and Samson & Delilah, The New Boy takes place in 1940s Australia at a remote monastery with a mission for Aboriginal children run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Blanchett). — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 8 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nun
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nun
  1. abbess
  2. monk
  3. prioress
  4. priestess
  5. friar
  6. novice
  7. sister
  8. anchoress
Noun
  • When the abbess died in 866, she was buried in the abbey church.
    — Moira Ritter, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024
  • That makes the abbess a likely candidate for the author of the inscription and marginal doodles.
    — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2023
Definition of abbess
Noun
  • Now people see black horses with fiery eyes, monks high in the tree tops.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
  • While appearing on Live with Kelly and Mark on Monday, April 7, the 37-year-old podcast host and former Hindu monk discussed his most recent gig as a wedding officiant — because there's been more than one! — with Hudgens, 36, and Tucker, 28.
    — Rachel Raposas, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of monk
Noun
  • In response, the diocese said in a statement that the Holy See has acted toward healing the Arlington Carmel and the nuns in the community and not simply the former prioress and her former councilors.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
  • Matrix by Lauren Groff Currents of violence and devotion coalesce around Marie de France, a 17-year-old sent to be the new prioress of a 12th-century English abbey.
    — Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 29 Mar. 2024
Definition of prioress
Noun
  • Archaeologists excavating a massive tomb in Pompeii unearthed extremely rare, nearly life-size marble statues that shed new light on the power held by priestesses in the ancient city.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025
  • In her right hand, the female figure holds laurel leaves, which Roman priestesses and priests once used to purify spaces.
    — Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025
Definition of priestess
Noun
  • Image Image Today, the convent functions as an infirmary for elderly Dominican friars from the area.
    — Clara Vannucci, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
  • According to Spanish Franciscan friar Diego de Landa Calderon – most famous for his zeal in destroying Maya codices – the Maya painted human beings before forcing them onto an altar and cutting out their beating hearts.
    — Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 1 Dec. 2024
Definition of friar
Noun
  • The ideal approach is to let veterans and novices collaborate, as tech alone cannot capture the human spirit.
    — Deepa Nagraj, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Long banking career and political novice Carney, who has had a high-profile banking career, is a political outsider who has never held political office.
    — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of novice
Noun
  • Superior Court Judge Craig Collins from neighboring Gaston county also rejected it after Tench’s friends and family — his mother, sister and aunts — submitted and read aloud letters underlining the effect Tench’s disappearance and apparent death have had.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2025
  • The former couple both appeared in a number of fan-favorite films and television shows in the 1990s and 2000s, with Hardrict briefly appearing on Felicity and Mowry and her twin sister, Tamera Mowry, appearing in Sister, Sister, Twitches, and more.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of sister
Noun
  • In the medieval church, women’s roles were limited – usually some form of enclosure and celibacy, such as becoming an anchoress walled up alone for life, or a nun in a classic convent.
    — Joelle Rollo-Koster, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Louise, a former anchoress, is her humble, tyrannical maid.
    — Hervé Guibert, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
Definition of anchoress

Browse Nearby Words

numskulls
nun
nuncio
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nun. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on nun

Nglish: Translation of nun for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See More

Popular

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name that thing flower edition
Name That Flower Can you tell the difference between a lilac and a...
See All