Definition

1. Noun:
   • A building for religious assembly: A structure, often modest or unadorned, used for religious meetings, particularly by Nonconformist Christian groups (e.g., Quakers, Puritans) who separated from the established church.
   • A secret or unauthorized meeting for religious worship: An assembly for worship held in private, often clandestinely, especially when such meetings were prohibited or persecuted by the ruling religious or state authority.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The small, plain conventicle served as a place of worship for the local Quaker community.
  • During the period of persecution, the believers held a conventicle in a private home to avoid detection.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Legal Context: The term often carries historical connotations, referring to meetings held by Protestant dissenters in 16th- and 17th-century England and Scotland when their worship was outlawed.
  • The Conventicle Act of 1664 in England aimed to suppress these secret religious gatherings.

Variants and Related Words

• Conventicler (noun, archaic): A person who attends or participates in a conventicle.

Synonyms

• Meetinghouse: A building used for religious assembly, especially by Nonconformists.
• Secret assembly: An unauthorized or clandestine gathering.
• Clandestine meeting: A secret gathering, often for worship.

Noun

1. a building for religious assembly (especially Nonconformists, e.g., Quakers)
2. a secret unauthorized meeting for religious worship