- 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
'ecclesiastics' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
witan
- zucchetto
- barret
- biretta
- congregation
- cope
- hierocracy
- holiness
- notable
- shovel hat
- spiritualty
- synod