Meaning & use
congregant
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who is a member of a congregation, especially one who regularly attends a particular place of worship.
Grammar: Countable noun: 'a congregant', 'the congregants'.
Patterns
- a congregant at a church
- regular congregants
The pastor greeted each congregant as they left the church.
Many congregants stayed after the service to chat.
She became a regular congregant at the synagogue.
Word forms
| plural | congregants |
|---|
Common combinations
- regular congregant
- He is a regular congregant at the local mosque.
- church congregant
- The church congregants organized a charity drive.
- fellow congregant
- She greeted her fellow congregants warmly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- parishioner
- Specifically a member of a Christian parish; congregant is broader and can be used for any religion.
- worshiper
- Someone who is worshipping, often at a particular time; congregant emphasizes membership in a group that meets regularly.
Word family
- congregation noun
- The group of people who gather for worship.
- congregational adjective
- Relating to a congregation or a type of church governance.
Commonly confused: congregant or congregation?
congregant vs congregation
Congregation is the group; a congregant is one member of that group.
Practice
Choose the correct word: 'Each ______ received a small gift after the service.'
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a singular noun for an individual person: 'congregant'. 'Congregation' is the whole group, 'congregational' is an adjective, and 'congregate' is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “congregant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.