variants
or ancress
as in prioress
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Recent Examples of anchoress
In the medieval church, women’s roles were limited – usually some form of enclosure and celibacy, such as becoming an anchoress walled up alone for life, or a nun in a classic convent.
—
Joelle Rollo-Koster, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
Louise, a former anchoress, is her humble, tyrannical maid.
—Hervé Guibert, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
Some of the spotlighted individuals, like St. Catherine of Siena and English anchoress Julian of Norwich, were celebrated in their day as visionaries, while others, including Kempe and Joan of Arc, were persecuted as heretics.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
Joelle Rollo-Koster, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
Louise, a former anchoress, is her humble, tyrannical maid.
—Hervé Guibert, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
Some of the spotlighted individuals, like St. Catherine of Siena and English anchoress Julian of Norwich, were celebrated in their day as visionaries, while others, including Kempe and Joan of Arc, were persecuted as heretics.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anchoress
Noun
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In response, the diocese said in a statement that the Holy See has acted toward healing the Arlington Carmel and the nuns in the community and not simply the former prioress and her former councilors.—
Elizabeth Campbell,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Apr. 2024
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Matrix by Lauren Groff Currents of violence and devotion coalesce around Marie de France, a 17-year-old sent to be the new prioress of a 12th-century English abbey.—
Mia Barzilay Freund,
Vogue,
29 Mar. 2024
Noun
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When the abbess died in 866, she was buried in the abbey church.—
Moira Ritter,
Miami Herald,
22 Feb. 2024
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That makes the abbess a likely candidate for the author of the inscription and marginal doodles.—
Ron Amadeo,
Ars Technica,
21 Feb. 2023
Noun
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The nuns are pushing for change at major companies through shareholder activism. 6:19 In the quiet town of Atchison, Kansas, an unlikely group of activists is taking on some of America's biggest corporations -- not through protests on the streets, but through the stock market.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2025
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Written and directed by Warwick Thornton, the Australian filmmaker behind titles like Sweet Country and Samson & Delilah, The New Boy takes place in 1940s Australia at a remote monastery with a mission for Aboriginal children run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Blanchett).—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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While appearing on Live with Kelly and Mark on Monday, April 7, the 37-year-old podcast host and former Hindu monk discussed his most recent gig as a wedding officiant — because there's been more than one! — with Hudgens, 36, and Tucker, 28.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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Now people see black horses with fiery eyes, monks high in the tree tops.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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While the Thai Buddhism depicted in The White Lotus is not completely realistic, there are several authentic ways to engage deeply with Buddhism, ranging from offering donations to short meditation retreats to ordination as a monastic.—
Brooke Schedneck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2025
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While the Thai Buddhism depicted in The White Lotus is not completely realistic, there are several authentic ways to engage deeply with Buddhism, ranging from offering donations to short meditation retreats to ordination as a monastic.—
Brooke Schedneck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Image Image Today, the convent functions as an infirmary for elderly Dominican friars from the area.—
Clara Vannucci,
New York Times,
3 Apr. 2025
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According to Spanish Franciscan friar Diego de Landa Calderon – most famous for his zeal in destroying Maya codices – the Maya painted human beings before forcing them onto an altar and cutting out their beating hearts.—
Cheri Lucas Rowlands,
Longreads,
1 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Long banking career and political novice Carney, who has had a high-profile banking career, is a political outsider who has never held political office.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA TODAY,
10 Mar. 2025
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The ideal approach is to let veterans and novices collaborate, as tech alone cannot capture the human spirit.—
Deepa Nagraj,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But the fate of the votary is to require and receive a constant renewal of faith.—
Jeff Weiss,
Spin,
21 Aug. 2023
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Many remember the Cultural Revolution as a time of Red Guard excess—of the people terrorizing the votaries of the party.—
Mary Gallagher,
Foreign Affairs,
20 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Anchoress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anchoress. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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