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postulant

[ pos-chuh-luh nt ]
/ ˈpɒs tʃə lənt /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR postulant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a candidate, especially for admission into a religious order.
a person who asks or applies for something.

RELATED WORDS

contestant, applicant, candidate, beginner, learner, neophyte, newcomer, pupil, trainee, sister, claimant, seeker, aspirant, competitor, hopeful, wannabe, striver, gremlin, convert, tenderfoot

Nearby words

  1. posttraumatic neck syndrome,
  2. posttraumatic stress disorder,
  3. posttraumatic syndrome,
  4. posttyphoid,
  5. postulancy,
  6. postulate,
  7. postulator,
  8. postural,
  9. postural contraction,
  10. postural drainage

Origin of postulant

1750–60; < French < Latin postulant- (stem of postulāns), present participle of postulāre to ask for, claim, require
Related formspos·tu·lant·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for postulant

British Dictionary definitions for postulant

postulant

/ (ˈpɒstjʊlənt) /

noun

a person who makes a request or application, esp a candidate for admission to a religious order
Derived Formspostulancy or postulantship, noun

Word Origin for postulant

C18: from Latin postulāns asking, from postulāre to ask, demand
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 postulant

postulant

n.

1759, from French postulant "applicant, candidate," literally "one who asks," from Latin postulantem (nominative postulans), present participle of postulare "to ask, demand" (see postulate (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper