anticlerical
adjective
an·ti·cler·i·cal
| \ ˌan-tē-ˈkler-i-kəl
, ˌan-ˌtī-\
, ˌan-ˌtī-\
Definition of anticlerical
: opposed to clericalism or to the interference or influence of the clergy in secular affairs
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Other Words from anticlerical
anticlerical
noun
anticlericalism
\ -kə-ˌli-zəm
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of anticlerical in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Though witches have most often been treated throughout history as evil in both fiction and in real life, sentiments began to change in the 19th century as anticlerical, individualist values took hold across Europe. — Pam Grossman, The Atlantic, "The Wizard of Oz Invented the ‘Good Witch’," 25 Aug. 2019 In 1881, as the burial procession of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) neared the Tiber River in Rome, anticlerical protesters breached the escort and attempted to throw the papal bier into the murky water. — Thomas Albert Howard, WSJ, "‘The Pope Who Would Be King’ and ‘Vatican I’ Review: Rome Infallible," 5 Feb. 2019 As the heir to a long tradition of French anticlerical irreverence — the likes of which Voltaire would have been proud — the magazine was always meant to scandalize and offend, Lançon said. — James Mcauley, Washington Post, "A terrorist attack turned Charlie Hebdo into a revered institution it never sought to be," 26 May 2018 Beset by anticlerical liberal governments in Europe and Latin America, bishops cleaved to the papacy, seeking strength in unity under the Holy See after centuries of struggle with Rome. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Even the Pope’s ‘Supreme’ Power Has Its Limits," 29 Apr. 2018 The boulevard, which follows the course of a stream that was eventually diverted, was home to convents and monasteries before the anticlerical riots of 1835 destroyed many of them. — New York Times, "In Spain, Searching for Ancestors, Dry Wine and Calm Seas," 16 Jan. 2018 At least since the 18th century, the depiction of nuns and convents in literature has often tended toward the Gothic or the pornographic, fed by anticlerical and anti-Catholic ideology as well as by fantasies about female sexuality. — A.o. Scott, New York Times, "Review: ‘Novitiate’ Shares a Young Nun’s Emotional Story," 26 Oct. 2017 The Mexican state was fiercely secular for much of the last century, with a litany of anticlerical statutes, including prohibitions against land ownership by the church. — Azam Ahmed, Jim Yardley And Paulina Villegas, New York Times, "Pope Francis and Hassan Rouhani of Iran Discuss Mideast Unrest JAN. 26, 2016," 12 Feb. 2016 Visconti’s anticlerical, anti-bourgeois politics become overt only in the trial sequence, broadly staged in a real, seemingly stifling Algiers courtroom. — J. Hoberman, New York Times, "‘The Stranger,’ Made All the More So in the Person of Mastroianni," 25 May 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anticlerical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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