Synonyms for minister
Most common
priest pastor preacher rector ambassador envoy official government minister
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Pastor
pastor, rector, preacher, priest, clergyman, parson, vicar, churchman, curate, shepherd, ecclesiastic, divine
2. Ambassador
ambassador, envoy, plenipotentiary, representative, delegate
Other
Definitions
- n. 1
A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.
The minister said a prayer on behalf of the entire congregation.
- n. 2
A person (either a layperson or an ordained clergy member) who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- ministers → pastors, rectors, preachers, priests…
Example sentences
- priest The main duty of a priest is to preach in church.
- pastor Tom is the pastor at the church that Mary goes to.
- preacher I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- rector In April 1933, Heidegger was appointed rector of the University of Freiburg.
- ambassador Mr Brown was acting in the capacity of ambassador.
- envoy There's an envoy from Australia here to see you.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| minister | steady | |
| priest | rising | |
| pastor | rising | |
| preacher | rising | |
| rector | falling | |
| ambassador | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- envoy2, vicar2
- 6 letters
- priest1, divine2, pastor2, rector2, curate2, parson2
- 8 letters
- official3, shepherd2, preacher2, delegate3
- 9 letters
- clergyman3, churchman2
- 10 letters
- ambassador4
- 12 letters
- ecclesiastic5
- 14 letters
- representative5
- 15 letters
- plenipotentiary
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (envoy2 = 2 syllables).