nuns
Women in habits
Nuns are women who have taken religious vows and live in a community devoted to prayer, contemplation, and service.
The term applies across traditions—Catholic, Buddhist, Orthodox—though the specifics of dress, practice, and enclosure vary.
The nuns ran the hospital.
A nun differs technically from a sister, who takes simpler vows and works outside the convent, though the terms blur in casual use.
Classic stage-to-screen adaptation
- penguinFlightless aquatic southern bird
- MariaCommon feminine given name
- habitSettled regular tendency
- stereotypeFixed oversimplified notion
strict · ruler · calling · vocation · bride of Christ · convent school · parochial
Covered monastic walkway
- abbeyMonastic house of worship
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
- motherhouseOrder's principal convent
- prioryLesser monastic house
enclosure · cell · dormitory · refectory · chapel · scriptorium · chapterhouse · parlour
Abstaining from intimate relations
- povertySevere lack of resources
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
perpetual · solemn · temporary · profession · renewal · breaking · dispensation · commitment
Female monastic leader
- prioressFemale monastic superior
- noviceInexperienced newcomer to field
- postulantReligious order applicant
- sisterFemale sibling
novitiate · formation · profession · canonical · congregation · order · community · chapter
Cloth framing the face
- veilFabric that obscures
- scapularRelating to shoulder blade
- coifArranged hair style
- tunicLoose hip-length top
cincture · rosary · crucifix · sandals · modified · traditional · black · white
Address to deity
- vespersEvening devotional service
- matinsLiturgical dawn devotions
- complineDay's final liturgy
- laudsExpresses high admiration
liturgy · mass · meditation · contemplation · adoration · breviary · choir · chanting
Monk following ancient rule
- CarmeliteCatholic contemplative order member
- DominicanPreaching order member
- FranciscanMendicant order member
- Sisters of MercyCatholic women's religious congregation
Profession of instructing others
- nursingMedical caretaking profession
- orphanageInstitution housing parentless children
- hospitalMedical treatment facility
- schoolPlace of instruction
missionary · charity · service · apostolate · outreach · catechism · social work · hospice
Sound of Music
Classic stage-to-screen adaptation
stereotype · strict · ruler · calling · vocation · bride of Christ · convent school · parochial
cloister
Covered monastic walkway
- abbeyMonastic house of worship
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
- motherhouseOrder's principal convent
priory · enclosure · cell · dormitory · refectory · chapel · scriptorium · chapterhouse · parlour · infirmary
celibacy
Abstaining from intimate relations
- povertySevere lack of resources
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
enclosure · perpetual · solemn · temporary · profession · renewal · breaking · dispensation · commitment · renunciation
abbess
Female monastic leader
- prioressFemale monastic superior
- noviceInexperienced newcomer to field
- postulantReligious order applicant
sister · novitiate · formation · profession · canonical · congregation · order · community · chapter · council
wimple
Cloth framing the face
tunic · cincture · rosary · crucifix · sandals · modified · traditional · black · white · grey
prayer
Address to deity
lauds · liturgy · mass · meditation · contemplation · adoration · breviary · choir · chanting · gregorian
Benedictine
Monk following ancient rule
- CarmeliteCatholic contemplative order member
- DominicanPreaching order member
- FranciscanMendicant order member
teaching
Profession of instructing others
- nursingMedical caretaking profession
- orphanageInstitution housing parentless children
- hospitalMedical treatment facility
school · missionary · charity · service · apostolate · outreach · catechism · social work · hospice · education
- women's groupssorority, sisterhood, women's club, women's league, women's guild
- monasticismabbeys, abbey, abbots, abbot, cloister
- Catholicsparishioners, parishioner, communicant, archbishops, lapsed Catholic
- holy womenabbesses, Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, Saint Anne, Saint Teresa
- monasticsmonk, abbot, abbess, friars, monks
- religious ordersBenedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Carmelites
nunslaywomen
Unordained female believers
wives · laypeople · mothers · housewives · career women
nunsprostitutes
Those who sell sex
whores · harlots · courtesans · loose women · scarlet women
- Catholic nunsFemale monastics under papal authority
- Buddhist nunOrdained female monastic
- The NunFemale monastic devotee
- nun habitReligious sister's clothing
- cloistered nunsReligious women in seclusion