churchman
Americannoun
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an ecclesiastic; clergyman.
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an adherent or active supporter of a church.
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British. a member of the Established Church.
noun
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a clergyman
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a male practising member of a church
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of churchman
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.
See Examples For:
A churchman of exceptional rhetorical skill, Augustine was naturally drawn into doctrinal and intellectual controversies, in which he showed a fearsome determination that his views should win out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Francis encouraged people to pray to the newly beatified churchman to “obtain for us the smile of the soul.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2022
But there’s no way to know who determined the imagery, conquered artist or conquering European churchman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2021
As a high-profile black churchman he was inevitably drawn into the struggle against white-minority rule but always insisted his motives were religious, not political.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2021
My dad gave him a firm shake and a tight-lipped nod, and the churchman headed out.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
Few churchmen will explicitly promote pacifism as the only proper Christian option.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
An 1850 issue of The Dublin University Magazine said beaver tail was usually eaten during Lent by the "strict churchmen of Northern Germany," while the Canadian Journal of Industry, Science and Art wrote:
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2023
I don’t mess with churchmen or my family.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2023
Francis on Saturday raised to that rank 20 churchmen, including 16 younger than 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect new pontiffs.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2022
“You would think,” Skarpi’s voice rolled out like thick honey, “fine churchmen such as yourselves could find better things to do than arresting storytellers and extorting money from honest men.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
