ayatollah
noun
aya·tol·lah
ˌī-ə-ˈtō-lə 
-ˈtä-
-ˈtä-
-ˈtə-,
ˈī-ə-ˌtō-,
-ˌtä-,
-ˌtə-
: a religious leader among Shiite Muslims
—used as a title of respect especially for one who is not an imam
Examples of ayatollah in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The same president who sent two carrier strike groups to the Middle East as a warning to Tehran is simultaneously lining the ayatollahs’ pockets.
—
Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
And whoever comes after the ayatollahs will do the same.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024
The most powerful sign is that President Vladimir Putin in Russia and the ruling ayatollahs in Iran feel the need to hold elections at all.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Jan. 2024
The ayatollah and his first (and last) deputy supreme leader, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, were both Islamic Trotskyites who saw the expansion of the revolution as integral to its success.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023
But the chasm between the U.S. and Iran precedes the rule of the ayatollahs.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024
This was much like the fatwa issued by Iran’s ayatollah on Salman Rushdie.
—Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Even the secular intelligentsia banded with the ayatollah, dismissing the protests and the blatant anti-Semitic and anti-feminist character of the new leadership as a few minor quirks upon which the great revolution could not afford to dwell.
—Roya Hakakian, The Atlantic, 22 Nov. 2023
In this culture of the physical imbued with the sacred, Najaf and Karbala, with their grand ayatollahs and seminaries, along with the mosque in Kufa, where Ali died, form the points of a sacred triangle.
—Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
And whoever comes after the ayatollahs will do the same.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024
The most powerful sign is that President Vladimir Putin in Russia and the ruling ayatollahs in Iran feel the need to hold elections at all.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Jan. 2024
The ayatollah and his first (and last) deputy supreme leader, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, were both Islamic Trotskyites who saw the expansion of the revolution as integral to its success.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023
But the chasm between the U.S. and Iran precedes the rule of the ayatollahs.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024
This was much like the fatwa issued by Iran’s ayatollah on Salman Rushdie.
—Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Even the secular intelligentsia banded with the ayatollah, dismissing the protests and the blatant anti-Semitic and anti-feminist character of the new leadership as a few minor quirks upon which the great revolution could not afford to dwell.
—Roya Hakakian, The Atlantic, 22 Nov. 2023
In this culture of the physical imbued with the sacred, Najaf and Karbala, with their grand ayatollahs and seminaries, along with the mosque in Kufa, where Ali died, form the points of a sacred triangle.
—Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ayatollah.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Ayatollah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ayatollah. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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