friar
noun
a member of a religious order, especially the mendicant orders of Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinians.
friars
-
pluralof friar.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
The Cordillera mountain region's animist residents adopted Christianity only after Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States in 1898, four centuries after Spanish friars had converted the people of the coasts to Catholicism.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Coronado, a nobleman around 30 years old, set out in early 1540 with 350 Spaniards, 1,500 indigenous allies and five friars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
"Direct contact with nature gave the friars legitimacy, special spiritual powers and access to valuable natural resources including timber, crops and wild animals," Dr. Ilko says.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026
It was closely associated with the Spanish conquest, Spanish friars acting as de facto colonial administrators and the church becoming a big landowner.
From BBC ● May 7, 2025
But the friars had fallen out of favor with Emperor Joseph II in 1783.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
