laities

noun

plural of laity
as in churches
the people of a religion who are not priests, ministers, etc. a member of the laity The laity has played an important role in the history of the church.

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laities
  1. churches
  2. flocks
  3. parishes
Noun
  • It was meant to connect Floridians in need with private charities and churches, moving them off government assistance.
    — Christopher Spata, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Over the past several decades, however, a growing percentage of people in Latin America, long a Catholic stronghold, have been embracing evangelical churches.
    — Johanna Bard Richlin, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of churches
Noun
  • Infected flocks are quarantined, and usually the birds are destroyed.
    — Allison Gibson, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The pinkish-gray sky began to reveal flocks of ducks heading out to feed.
    — Kody Lostroh, Denver Post, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of flocks
Noun
  • Not all parishes can afford to pay for a support staff to fully serve the parish and our missionary aspirations.
    — Tim Fang, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Four of Cincinnati's oldest West Side parishes are making plans to merge into a new parish that would serve hundreds of Catholics who attend their churches and schools.
    — Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Feb. 2026
Definition of parishes
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

lairs
laities
laity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Laities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laities. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All