Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun novitiate

2 senses of novitiate

Sense 1
novitiate, noviciate -- (the period during which you are a novice (especially in a religious order))
       => time period, period of time, period -- (an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period")

Sense 2
novitiate, novice -- (someone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows)
       => religious person -- (a person who manifests devotion to a deity)