DIOCESAN Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

diocesan 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of diocesan

as in episcopal

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Dissimilar Words

diocesan

2 of 2

noun

as in bishop

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of diocesan

Adjective

The provincial headquarters are located in Nairobi, and the church conducts much of its work through diocesan offices, educational institutions, health care ministries, and development programs. — Stephanie Triplettall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026 Overall, diocesan officials said 1,059 people are expected to enter the Catholic Church in the Chicago diocese this year, up from 696 in 2025, a 52% increase. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 As was typical of the national pattern in the United States, the diocesan bishops and local clergy in Pittsburgh were dominated by the Irish. — Paula Kane, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2026 The attackers entered the diocesan health center late Friday night, killing patients in their beds and setting the facility ablaze. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Nov. 2025 Forsyth said diocesan officials will continue to talk to church members to determine what needs to be done to reopen. — Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Nov. 2025 Johnston wrote that the Bright Futures Fund was brought into the diocesan accounting system and was under the regular oversight of its finance office. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 6 Nov. 2025

Noun

The first is the strikingly Gothic diocesan throne, which sits in the cathedral choir and dates from the Victorian era. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2026 The diocesan website includes a statement from Dallas Bishop Edward Burns connecting the need for social distancing with the story of the Good Samaritan. — David Tarrant, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2020 In the Catholic Church, this is generally a time of the year when dioceses ask their members to donate to annual bishops’ Lenten appeals, which fund diocesan operations. — Nicholas Rowan, Washington Examiner, 22 Mar. 2020 Their database contains many clergy who don’t appear on official diocesan lists and so aren’t in our database. — Ellis Simani, ProPublica, 3 Feb. 2020 The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas to Chile. — Fox News, 18 Dec. 2019 The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas and Chile. — NBC News, 17 Dec. 2019 Insurers have covered a large portion of settlements reached in previous diocesan bankruptcy cases, a 2018 study by Penn State professor Marie Reilly found, with victims receiving an average award of $371,500. — CBS News, 23 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for diocesan

Adjective

After returning to the United States, Novakovic attended an Episcopal boarding school in San Antonio, Texas.

— byRachel Cole, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 May 2026
On New Year’s Eve in 1996, Christou followed Deadbeat with a club at a former Episcopal church that was built in 1865.

— Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 26 Feb. 2026

Definition of episcopal

Noun

On April 18, 1049, the pope exempted a nunnery in Alsace – now in Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine, France – from the legal authority and supervision of the local bishop.

— Joëlle Rollo-Koster, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026
Warren Jeffs then appointed Nephi Jeffs, another brother, as bishop.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of bishop

Adjective

Luis Antonio Tagle, 69, a Filipino cardinal, was appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the new dean of the College of Cardinals, elevating his profile as a papal contender in the process.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
Simply put, the evolution of the rose followed the evolution of papal power itself.

— Joëlle Rollo-Koster, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of papal

Noun

Bishop’s Lodge dates to the 1860s when Santa Fe’s first archbishop, Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy, built a chapel and private residence here.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
The pilgrims were going to a prayer site in Nakuru County, west of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, said Martin Kivuva, archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of archbishop

Adjective

On June 2, 1979, Pope John Paul II set out from Rome on an apostolic journey, as papal trips away from the Vatican are called.

— Paul Elie, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church directed his remarks to university students at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, during an 11-day apostolic journey in Africa.

— Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026

Definition of apostolic

Noun

An American had never been pope, and the prevailing conventional wisdom was that one never would be elected.

— Scott Detrow, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
Throw in some divine intervention with the first Chicago pope confessing his allegiance to the South Siders, and the Cinderella story has captured the nation’s imagination.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of pope

Adjective

In another decree published Monday, Leo canceled Francis’ plans to move some of the Vatican’s secret archives and library holdings out of the city state and onto the grounds of a pontifical university across town.

— Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people who are cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary, which Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, declared a pontifical basilica in 1901.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 May 2026

Definition of pontifical

Noun

The group was founded in 1970 in Switzerland by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a French prelate, but five years later was officially suppressed by the Bishop of Fribourg.

— Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
In roughly 33 hours over the course of two days, the diverse group of international prelates elected Prevost on the fourth ballot.

— Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026

Definition of prelate

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Style

“Diocesan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diocesan. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of diocesan

adjective

noun

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