simony

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablereligion

   The offense of buying or selling positions in a church or other holy things for money.

   Grammar: Uncountable: accused of simony.

   Patterns

   • accused of simony
   • charged with simony

   The bishop was accused of simony after it emerged that he had sold church posts.

   Medieval reformers fought simony because they feared it corrupted the church.

   Paying a fee to receive a parish was a clear case of simony.

2. 2noununcountablefigurative

   Corrupt trading in jobs or honors in any institution, where positions are sold for payment.

   Grammar: A figurative extension: simony in politics.

   Patterns

   • simony in something

   Critics described the sale of titles as modern simony.

   The newspaper claimed that a form of simony was operating in the ministry.

   They accused the party of simony for rewarding donors with posts.

Common combinations

accused of simony

Several priests were accused of simony in the twelfth century.

guilty of simony

The abbot was found guilty of simony.

practice simony

Some church leaders practiced simony openly.

condemn simony

The council condemned simony in strong terms.

charge of simony

He faced a charge of simony.

Synonyms and how they differ

corruption

Corruption is the general word for dishonest behavior in power, while simony is specifically about selling church or sacred positions.

bribery

Bribery is paying to influence a decision in any setting, while simony deals with the sale of spiritual offices.

venality

Venality is a formal word for being open to bribes and does not point to the church.

Opposites

Word family

simoniac noun

a person who practices simony

simoniacal adjective

involving simony

Simon Magus proper noun

the biblical figure from whom the word takes its name

Commonly confused: simony or simile? simony or symmetry?

Practice

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