cleric
Americannoun
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a member of the clergy.
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a member of a clerical party.
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(used with a plural verb) clerics, half-sized or small-sized reading glasses worn on the nose, usually rimless or with a thin metal frame.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of cleric
1615–25; < Late Latin clēricus priest < Greek klērikós, equivalent to klêr ( os ) lot, allotment + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He expected a scenario of "continuity of the regime with new rules of the game -- perhaps to the detriment of the clerics, but with the same people in charge".
From Barron's
One possibility is to have two senior clerics running the country together along with the judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the officials said.
These are fateful moments in the turbulent history of the Islamic Republic of Iran - but its most powerful clerics and commanders have been preparing for it.
From BBC
The second of eight children in a religious family, his father was a mid-ranking cleric from the Shia branch of Islam, the dominant sect in Iran.
From BBC
Iran’s Constitution dictates a new leader would be selected by an Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
