novitiate
Americannoun
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the state or period of being a novice of a religious order or congregation.
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the quarters occupied by religious novices during probation.
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the state or period of being a beginner in anything.
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a novice.
noun
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the state of being a novice, esp in a religious order, or the period for which this lasts
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the part of a religious house where the novices live
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a less common word for novice
Etymology
Origin of novitiate
1590–1600; < Medieval Latin, equivalent to novīti ( us ) novice + -ātus -ate 3
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.
Unbeknownst to Daniel, she’s a former novitiate who remains a committed Catholic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Set in Rome in 1971 just before the events of the first movie, “The First Omen’s” central figure is Margaret Daino, a dewy, virginal American novitiate played by Nell Tiger Free.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
The son of farmers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Father Swamy was sent to Jharkhand as a teenage Jesuit novitiate.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2021
In 1977, she entered the Ursuline novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph in Maple Mount, Ky. She moved to Guatemala after teaching kindergarten in Kentucky.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2021
She had joined the novitiate at the Sisters of the Star.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
