The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MONASTERY
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
M
O
N
A
S
T
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R
Y
More clues leading to the result MONASTERY
- One mostly in control in religious community
- Star with money rebuilt religious community
- Second queen to be held captive in horrid abbey
- Little hesitation probing doctor attached to unpleasant religious institution
- Old knight in control of brotherhood
- Tom yearns to be trained in a religious community
- Second royal in unpleasant house, a single-sex one
- Daisy’s passed on in my brother’s house
- Control guards on retreat
- Get on with the blooming thing, entering the writer’s place of worship
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "religious institution" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case religious institution = monastery.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MONASTERY mean?
MONASTERY noun- Building for housing monks or others who have taken religious vows