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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Conclave

/ˈkɒnkleɪv/ · noun

Meaning

The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place..

Definitions by Sense

  1. The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place.
  2. A group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope.
  3. A closed assembly at which cardinals elect a pope.
  4. (obsolete) A private chamber or room.
  5. To participate in a closed, private, or secret meeting.
  6. (Roman Catholicism) Of a cardinal: to attend a closed assembly to elect a pope.

Example Sentences

On Friday, St. John's Day, the 27th of December, the cardinals entered the conclave. […] Two hours before nightfall, the whole body met again in a chapel within the conclave, and after the bull of pope Julius [II] against simoniacal practices had been read, every cardinal, in the presence of the foreign ambassadors, took his corporal oath upon the Holy Evangelists to observe the bull to the best of his abilities.
Of the ten Cardinals now forming the Conclave, five voted for Cardinal Geoffredo Castiglione [later Pope Celestine IV], a Milanese, nephew to Urban III, and three for Cardinal Romano [da Porto].
Two years afterwards Pius IX died, and the Conclave met in the Vatican to choose his successor. Its deliberations were short.
in conclave
papal conclave
The ſaid Duke Ferdinando [I de’ Medici] vvas reputed a vviſe and vvarie Prince, and it vvas a ſolid vviſdom rather than a Formall. He had been long a Cardinall, and at tvvo or three Conclaves (as they call them) or Elections of Popes.
[W]e find it once said of an eminent Cardinal, by reaſon of his great and apparent Likelihood to ſtep into St. Peter’s Chair, that in two Conclaves he went in Pope, and came out again Cardinal.
His [Keith O'Brien's] exit came as at least a dozen other cardinals tarnished with accusations that they had failed to remove priests accused of sexually abusing minors were among those gathering in Rome to prepare for the conclave to select a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

Synonyms for conclave

closet

Antonyms for conclave

Related Words

conferencemeetingsecretconsistoryconvocationconventcongregationconventicleallocutioncongressaccessitconventionadorationconcordatcongressionconsessuswhite smokeconveningfield meetingpost-scrutiny

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does conclave mean?

Conclave means The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place..

What is a synonym for conclave?

Common synonyms include closet.

What is the opposite of conclave?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use conclave in a sentence?

On Friday, St. John's Day, the 27th of December, the cardinals entered the conclave. […] Two hours before nightfall, the whole body met again in a chapel within the conclave, and after the bull of pope Julius [II] against simoniacal practices had been read, every cardinal, in the presence of the foreign ambassadors, took his corporal oath upon the Holy Evangelists to observe the bull to the best of his abilities.

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.