mullah
Americannoun
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(in Islamic countries) a title of respect for a person who is learned in, teaches, or expounds the sacred law.
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(in Turkey) a provincial judge.
noun
Etymology
Origin of mullah
1605–15; < Persian or Urdu mullā < Arabic mawlā; see maulvi
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.
Sodais said he was confronted by his local mullah, or Muslim clergy leader, in 2015 for working with Western armed forces.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
He also defended his actually making a personal call with a Taliban mullah, which was noted as having previously been “unthinkable” in media reports at the time.
From Washington Times • Sep. 22, 2022
Soon after, the mullah, loud and angry, came over the mosque loudspeaker.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2021
Others will be much more difficult, starting with Haibatullah Akhundzada, a mullah and former religious judge who has been the Taliban’s top leader since 2016.
From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2021
A mullah chanted surrahs from the Koran into a microphone.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
