diplomat

noun

dip·​lo·​mat ˈdi-plə-ˌmat How to pronounce diplomat (audio)
Synonyms of diplomatnext
: one employed or skilled in diplomacy
a foreign diplomat

Examples of diplomat in a Sentence

The President will be meeting with foreign diplomats. He's a talented architect but a poor diplomat.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On Monday, Afghanistan and Pakistan summoned each other's top diplomats to protest the attacks. — ABC News, 29 June 2026 Both Rama and Berisha forcefully condemned the act, as did five of the protest’s key leaders and Galit Peleg, Israel’s top diplomat in Tirana. — Larry Luxner, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2026 Top diplomats from Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement at the State Department yesterday after four days of talks, with Rubio looking on. — Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026 The court also upheld that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship for all except in the narrowest of cases, like the children of diplomats and invading soldiers. — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for diplomat

Word History

Etymology

French diplomate, back-formation from diplomatique

First Known Use

1813, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diplomat was in 1813

Rhymes for diplomat

See All Rhymes for diplomat

Browse Nearby Words

diploma piece
diplomat
diplomate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Diplomat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diplomat. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

diplomat

noun
dip·​lo·​mat ˈdip-lə-ˌmat How to pronounce diplomat (audio)
: a person employed or skilled in diplomacy

More from Merriam-Webster on diplomat

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for diplomat

Nglish: Translation of diplomat for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All