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monkish

[muhng-kish]
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or resembling a monk: a monkish manner.
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Origin of monkish

First recorded in 1540–50; monk + -ish1
Related formsmonk·ish·ly, adverbmonk·ish·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

secluded, austere, contemplative, solitary, ascetic, pastoral, ministerial, monastic, ecclesiastical, rabbinical, celibate, oblate, reclusive, monkish, canonical, ecclesiastic, holy, papal, pontifical, sacerdotal

Examples from the Web for monkish

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • At sight of John's monkish habit he started with surprise and faltered uneasily.

    The Christian

    Hall Caine

  • I took off my hat, that they might see I wore no monkish tonsure, and drank.

    Sir Ludar

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • Monkish tales to prey upon their superstition, we were taught.

    The Lovely Lady

    Mary Austin

  • He needs no dungeon keeps and monkish cells to play about in—not he!

    Humorous Ghost Stories

    Dorothy Scarborough

  • Now this is not the cold speculation of age, or monkish austerity.

    The Young Man's Guide

    William A. Alcott

British Dictionary definitions for monkish

monkish

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or resembling a monk or monks
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Derived Formsmonkishly, adverbmonkishness, noun
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

Word Origin and History for monkish

adj.

"pertaining to a monk," 1540s, from monk (n.) + -ish. Related: Monkishly; monkishness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper