- a member of the clergy or other person in holy orders
- of or associated with the Christian Church or clergy
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ec•cle•si•as•tic /ɪˌkliziˈæstɪk/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Religiona member of the clergy, especially in the Christian church.
ec•cle•si•as•tic
(i klē′zē as′tik),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
- Religiona member of the clergy or other person in religious orders.
- Ancient History, Antiquitya member of the ecclesia in ancient Athens.
adj.
- Religionecclesiastical.
- Greek ekklēsiastikós. See Ecclesiastes, -ic
- Late Latin ecclēsiasticus
- 1475–85
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ecclesiastic /ɪˌkliːzɪˈæstɪk/ n
'ecclesiastic' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
clergy
- eccl.
- herb Robert
- Ignatius Loyola
- John of Salisbury
- Lanfranc
- Map
- Nicholas I
- Nicholas V
- ordinary
- Paul III
- Paul VI
- Pius II
- Pius V
- Pius VI
- Pius VII
- Pius X
- Pius XI
- Pius XII
- Sixtus IV
- Sixtus V
- Suger
- Sylvester II
- Urban II
- Urban VI
- Urban VIII
- abbé
- Adrian II
- Adrian III
- Adrian V
- Adrian VI
- Agapetus I
- Agapetus II
- Agatho
- Alexander II
- Alexander III
- Alexander IV
- Alexander V
- Alexander VI
- Alexander VII
- Alexander VIII
- Angela Merici
- archdeacon
- Bandello
- Benedict XI
- Benedict XII
- Benedict XIII
- Benedict XIV
- Benedict XV
- benefice