mother superior

American  

noun

• mother superiors,
  plural
• mothers superior
  plural

1. the head of a Christian religious community for women.

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mother superior British  

noun

1. the head of a community of nuns

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mother superiors
  plural
• mothers superior
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mother superior

First recorded in 1905–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mother superior

Emily Watson plays the manipulative mother superior who slips Bill an envelope of cash to buy his complicity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2025

Bryant, one of the first to challenge that imbalance, became a mother superior to any number of young artists, including Hammons.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 2, 2019

The nuns feed about 2,500 migrants once a day – rice, beans, eggs and bread – thought donations are scarce and local traders often try to gouge prices, said Sister Bertha López, the mother superior.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 5, 2019

Finally, there’s the order’s mother superior, Mother Mary Veronica, 70, who left an 11-year career as a flight attendant for American Airlines in her 30s to join the order and seek a closeness with God.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2018

“The mother superior will have one,” Maria said airily.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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