Synonyms

papal

American

[pey-puhl] / ˈpeɪ pəl /

adjective

of or relating to the pope or the papacy.

a papal visit to Canada.
of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.

papal British

/ ˈpeɪpəl /

adjective

of or relating to the pope or the papacy

"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

Other Word Forms

antipapal adjective
nonpapal adjective
papally adverb
pseudopapal adjective
unpapal adjective

Etymology

Origin of papal

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word pāpālis. See pope, -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.

The search for a replacement for Cardinal Nichols was led by the Apostolic Nuncio, or papal ambassador to the UK, who presented a list of potential candidates to Pope Leo.

From BBC

Why did a church with an infallible papal teacher need councils?

From The Wall Street Journal

Since the last papal visit in 2012, the small country has been plagued by multiple crises.

From BBC

Flying from Istanbul to Beirut during his first foreign trip since his election in May, the pope continued the tradition of his predecessors by speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane.

From Barron's

More Christian pilgrims have made their way to Iznik since the papal visit was announced, and numbers are expected to grow.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023