# clergy vs cleric

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### clergy
*noun · IPA /ˈklɜːdʒi/ · frequency rank #10,511*
A body of persons, such as priests, who are trained and ordained for religious service.

### cleric
*noun · IPA /ˈklɛɹɪk/ · frequency rank #17,568*
A member of a clergy.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clergy-vs-cleric