priestcraft
Americannoun
noun
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the art and skills involved in the work of a priest
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derogatory the influence of priests upon politics or the use by them of secular power
Etymology
Origin of priestcraft
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.
In the 1820s and '30s, there was the Workingmen's Movement, pitted against the evils of "kingcraft, priestcraft and lawyercraft."
From Time Magazine Archive
They declaimed in favour of liberty and against priestcraft and tyranny with all the ardour and freshness of youth.
From George Brown by John Lewis
The relics of exploded priestcraft which I had just contemplated in the adjoining garden, led me into an amusing train of thought on the origin and progress of superstition.
From A Morning's Walk from London to Kew by Richard Phillips
In the end he determined on getting rid of the braminical priestcraft, and accordingly refused to worship any deity but Siva, whose image, the lingam, is the most ancient idol known among the Hindus.
From Phallic Miscellanies Facts and Phases of Ancient and Modern Sex Worship, as Illustrated Chiefly in the Religions of India by Hargrave Jennings
Having emancipated myself from the thraldom of bibliolatry and priestcraft generally, it is my aim to examine what seems to be my duty as a man and an integer of society.
From Ancient Faiths And Modern A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities by Thomas Inman
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.
