as in beggar
a person who lives by public begging
those wretched mendicants on the streets of Calcutta
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in monastic
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Recent Examples of mendicant
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
His eyes alternated between the mendicant and Bob.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
Guido eventually became a Dominican friar, dedicating himself to making art within the mendicant order; after his death, in 1455, he became known as Fra Angelico, or the Angelic Friar.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
Unlike monks who withdrew from ordinary life, mendicants stressed a life of poverty, spent in travel from town to town to preach and help the poor.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Augustinians are mendicants, like the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
—Sonari Glinton, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But both mendicant and supplicant have a religious connotation.
—Stephen Miller, WSJ, 11 Oct. 2021
Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The first mendicant orders, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, received papal approval in the early 13th century.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
The abrupt appearance and disappearance of the mendicant pilgrim is part of her power.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 5 Apr. 2023
No doubt the traditional tunic and mantle of his mendicant religious order met some standard of austerity when they were adopted in the Middle Ages.
—Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 2 Jan. 2021
Noun
But those states also have Republican governors, who would have raised holy hell if their constituents had been menaced by these roving mobs of mendicants.
—Adjective
One was that literary journalism anthology the mendicant had flipped through.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendicant
Noun
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In the old days beggars were drawn and quartered in that square.—
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In Havana, beggars are ubiquitous.—
Adjective
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The reflective values of the Japanese tea ceremony trace their origins to a monastic routine.—
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The rest of the temple grounds remain active, anchoring the depository within a living monastic community.—
Adjective
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But degraded conventual forces could drive Putin to other means of exerting force.—
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The Rev. Brad Heckathorne, a Conventual Franciscan friar, performed the ceremony at the chapel at Duke University.—
Adjective
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Here’s everything to know about her mental health history and the religious influence that allegedly distorted her beliefs.—
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At a massive commemoration marking the anniversary of the Eaton fire this week, local religious leaders read the names of the 19 people who died in the blaze.—
Adjective
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The shoes come in a ton of hues, including the above silver, plus a divine cherry red and ballet-slipper-pink mesh.—
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Their journey and gifts thus represent the homage of all nations and races to the divine revelation in Bethlehem, uniting in a single act of recognition of Jesus as King (gold), God (frankincense), and Savior (myrrh).—
Adjective
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Audiences could think of it as a pilgrimage to visit a holy relic — or its own act of sacramental theater.—
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Winston said because of that, Bible-believing and sacramental Christians have no choice but to be out protesting for the protection of immigrants.—
Cite this Entry
“Mendicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mendicant. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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