From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishecclesiasticec‧cle‧si‧as‧tic /ɪˌkliːziˈæstɪk◂/ noun [countable] formalRRC a priest, usually in the Christian church
Examples from the Corpus
ecclesiastic• Not impossibly there was a resistance movement in the Fens, as later under William the Conqueror, and ecclesiastics became involved.• In consequence, a gulf has opened between ecclesiastics and their congregations.• Personal ambition was doubtless another factor which tended to enmesh ecclesiastics in politics.• Indications that Cnut had difficulties with some Fenland ecclesiastics can also be considered in this context.• High ecclesiastics were men of authority as well as of sanctity.• A number of distinguished commentators, most of them ecclesiastics, were assembled to evaluate the programmes and their implications.• Among themselves, ecclesiastics have become eminently sophisticated and erudite. 