congregational
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a congregation.
congregational singing.
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(initial capital letter) pertaining or adhering to a form of Protestant church government in which each local church acts as an independent, self-governing body, while maintaining fellowship with like congregations.
adjective
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of or relating to a congregation
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(usually capital) of, relating to, or denoting the Congregational Church, its members, or its beliefs
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of congregational
First recorded in 1570–80; congregation + -al 1
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.
Neither chatbots nor celebrities can replace the relational work of a pastor or the congregational nature of worship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The month of fasting usually last about 30 days and concludes with the festival of Eid-al-Fitr, which is a time of family celebrations following congregational prayers.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025
On Friday, thousands of Muslims in several parts in the region offered special congregational prayers seeking God’s intervention in ending the dry spell.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
That devotion connected her to the earliest traditions of organized American music-making , the congregational singing in colonial churches that was served by the country’s first composers.
From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2024
“He’s just a country boy in school up there. He dont mean any harm. I think the marshal’ll find it’s a mistake. His father’s a congregational minister.”
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
