reverend
Other forms: reverends; reverendly
Use the noun reverend to talk about a clergy member of a Christian church, as in: "Let's ask the reverend if she'll marry us next week."
A minister, preacher, or priest can each also be called a reverend. The word is often capitalized, especially when it's used in the form "the Reverend so-and-so." In the early 15th century, it meant "worthy of respect," a meaning that's sometimes still used today, and by the late part of that century it was being used for clergy members too, though it was earliest spelled reverent.
Definitions of reverend
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worthy of adoration or reverence
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a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of a Christian church
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synonyms:
clergyman, man of the cloth
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examples:
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Henry Ward Beecher
United States clergyman who was a leader for the abolition of slavery (1813-1887)
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John Donne
English clergyman and metaphysical poet celebrated as a preacher (1572-1631)
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John Keble
English clergyman who (with John Henry Newman and Edward Pusey) founded the Oxford movement (1792-1866)
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Martin Luther King Jr.
United States charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of Blacks (1929-1968)
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John Wesley
English clergyman and founder of Methodism (1703-1791)
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Charles Wesley
English clergyman and brother of John Wesley who wrote many hymns (1707-1788)
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Roger Williams
English clergyman and colonist who was expelled from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritanism; he founded Providence in 1636 and obtained a royal charter for Rhode Island in 1663 (1603-1683)
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types:
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acolyte
someone who assists a priest or minister in a liturgical service; a cleric ordained in the highest of the minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church but not in the Anglican Church or the Eastern Orthodox Churches
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anagnost
a cleric in the minor orders of the Eastern Orthodox Church who reads the lessons aloud in the liturgy (analogous to the lector in the Roman Catholic Church)
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archdeacon
(Anglican Church) an ecclesiastical dignitary usually ranking just below a bishop
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chaplain
a clergyman ministering to some institution
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churchman, cleric, divine, ecclesiastic
a clergyman or other person in religious orders
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curate, minister, minister of religion, parson, pastor, rector
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
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deacon
a cleric ranking just below a priest in Christian churches; one of the Holy Orders
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domine, dominee, dominie, dominus
a clergyman; especially a settled minister or parson
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doorkeeper, ostiarius, ostiary
the lowest of the minor Holy Orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church
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lector, reader
someone who reads the lessons in a church service; someone ordained in a minor order of the Roman Catholic Church
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officiant
a clergyman who officiates at a religious ceremony or service
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ordinand
a person being ordained
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ordinary
a clergyman appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death
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postulator
(Roman Catholic Church) someone who proposes or pleads for a candidate for beatification or canonization
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preacher, preacher man, sermoniser, sermonizer
someone whose occupation is preaching the gospel
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priest
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
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shepherd
a clergyman who watches over a group of people
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subdeacon
a clergyman an order below deacon; one of the Holy Orders in the unreformed western Christian church and the eastern Catholic Churches but now suppressed in the Roman Catholic Church
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vicar
(Church of England) a clergyman appointed to act as priest of a parish
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vicar
(Episcopal Church) a clergyman in charge of a chapel
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altar boy
a boy serving as an acolyte
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archpriest, hierarch, high priest, prelate, primate
a senior clergyman and dignitary
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bishop
a senior member of the Christian clergy having spiritual and administrative authority; appointed in Christian churches to oversee priests or ministers; considered in some churches to be successors of the twelve Apostles of Christ
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canon
a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter
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celebrant
an officiating priest celebrating the Eucharist
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prison chaplain
a chaplain in a prison
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confessor
a priest who hears confession and gives absolution
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domestic prelate
(Roman Catholic Church) a priest who is an honorary member of the papal household
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evangelist, gospeler, gospeller, revivalist
a preacher of the Christian gospel
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Father, Padre
`Father' is a term of address for priests in some churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Catholic Church); `Padre' is frequently used in the military
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hospital chaplain
a chaplain in a hospital
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Holy Joe, military chaplain, padre, sky pilot
a chaplain in one of the military services
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ministrant
someone who serves as a minister
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Monsignor
(Roman Catholic Church) an ecclesiastical title of honor bestowed on some priests
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ordainer
a cleric who ordains; a cleric who admits someone to holy orders
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pardoner
a medieval cleric who raised money for the church by selling papal indulgences
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pluralist
a cleric who holds more than one benefice at a time
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pontifex
a member of the highest council of priests in ancient Rome
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priestess
a woman priest
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thurifer
an acolyte who carries a thurible
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vicar
a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman
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type of:
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spiritual leader
a leader in religious or sacred affairs
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Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing reverend
The Merry Wives of Windsor
In this comedy, two women scorn the romantic overtures of Sir John Falstaff (friend of Prince Hal in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2).
Titus Andronicus
After a Roman general captures a queen and kills her son, she embarks on a violent quest for revenge.
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