Synonyms for friar
Most common
Definitions
- n. 1
A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).
- n. 2
A white or pale patch on a printed page caused by poor inking.
Related words
- Word family
- friary
- Phrases
- black friar friar's cowl preaching friar friar's lantern
Forms
- Plural
- friars → brothers, fraters, monks, mendicants…
Example sentences
- brother If my brother were here, he would know what to do.
- monk William of Ockham was an English Franciscan monk.
- mendicant Tom gave three dollars to a mendicant.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| friar | steady | |
| brother | rising | |
| frater | falling | |
| monk | rising | |
| mendicant | rising | |
| silverside | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- monk1
- 6 letters
- frater2
- 7 letters
- brother2
- 9 letters
- clergyman3, mendicant
- 10 letters
- silverside3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (frater2 = 2 syllables).