2003: By the nineteenth-century clerisy […] Christianity itself, yoked to material civilization, came to be questioned as gross and vulgar. — Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason (Penguin 2004, p. 432)
Source: wiktionary
Clerisy
/ˈklɛɹɪsi/
Synonyms for "clerisy" (11 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (3)
Noun(3 words)
Strong matches (3)
Noun(3 words)
educational leadershipelite culturehigh culture
Related words (5)
Noun(5 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: intelligentsia, cultivated taste, cultural guardians, educational leadership, elite culture.
- Sentence evidence is available for clerisy, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, wordnet, opengloss.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "clerisy".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "clerisy"
Keep "clerisy" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "clerisy" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "clerisy", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "clerisy" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
9 entriesartistic traditioncultural domaincultural eliteeliteelite groupintellectual classsocial classsocial grouptaste culture
More specific
10 entriesacademicscultural guardianscultural mediatorscultural studieseducational leadershumanistshumanities studyliterary criticismphilosophersscholars
Collocations
6 entriesclerisy classclerisy cultureclerisy discourseclerisy idealsclerisy leadershipclerisy taste
Inflections
1 entriesSample sentences
4 total sentences available.
2016: Only the highly educated write so badly. Indeed, the point of such ludicrous prose is to signal membership in a closed clerisy that possesses a private language. — George F. Will, Washington Post, 18 Nov, 2016
Source: wiktionary
2022: We invent ourselves as American writers—it's not a clerisy we’re born into... — Edward Hirsch, The Heart of American Poetry (Library of America, 2022)
Source: wiktionary
Few men have ever had a stronger conviction of their clerisy, of their belonging to the clerkly caste of the responsibles.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "clerisy"?
Closest matches include intelligentsia, cultivated taste, cultural guardians, educational leadership, elite culture.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "clerisy"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.