English

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Etymology

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From church +‎ -like. Compare Scots kirklyk, kirklike (ecclesiastical).

Adjective

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churchlike (comparative more churchlike, superlative most churchlike)

  1. Resembling or befitting a church or a worship service.
    Synonyms: churchical, churchly, churchy, ecclesiastical
    • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, chapter 5, in Jane Eyre[1]:
      The new part, containing the schoolroom and dormitory, was lit by mullioned and latticed windows, which gave it a church-like aspect []
    • 1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 13, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings[2], New York: Bantam, published 1971, page 69:
      The court was filled. Some people even stood behind the churchlike benches in the rear.
    • 2009 January 29, Cintra Wilson, “These Jewels Look Smaller in France”, in New York Times[3]:
      This is [] a break with the practice at American diamond stores, where shopping for engagement rings is a solemnized and somewhat stressfully churchlike experience of awe and trembling before the altar of massive debt.

Derived terms

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