monkery

[ muhng-kuh-ree ]

noun,plural monk·er·ies.Disparaging.
  1. the mode of life, behavior, etc., of monks; monastic life.

  2. a monastery.

  1. monkeries, the practices, beliefs, etc., of monks.

Origin of monkery

1
First recorded in 1530–40; monk + -ery

Words Nearby monkery

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use monkery in a sentence

  • In the Twelfth Century a college was merely a monkery that took in boarders, and learning was acquired by absorption.

  • Then follows an amusing story of "that Bishop of Bellay, who has writ so much against monks and monkery."

    Locke | Thomas Fowler
  • The fondness for monkery is easily deduced from some of the best principles in the human heart.

  • The mountain itself, although far beyond the dominions of Shoa, is renowned as the most sacred seat of monkery.

    The Highlands of Ethiopia | William Cornwallis Harris
  • His father hated monkery, and he shared the feeling; but, if it would save him, why hesitate?

    Luther and the Reformation: | Joseph A. Seiss

British Dictionary definitions for monkery

monkery

/ (ˈmʌŋkərɪ) /


nounplural -eries derogatory
  1. monastic life or practices

  2. a monastery or monks collectively

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012