apparatchik

noun

Definition of apparatchiknext
as in minion
disapproving a very loyal member of an organization (such as a company or political party) who always obeys orders party apparatchiks

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of apparatchik This agitprop is vomited out 24/7 by Democrat media apparatchiks who were also unerringly described by Orwell in his novel 1984. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 11 Oct. 2025 The group ventriloquized the voices of authority—parents, school principals, cops, military officers, judges, politicians, newscasters, Soviet apparatchiks—and turned them into expressions of mass insanity. — Andrew Katzenstein, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026 Jared Harris is superb as Soviet nuclear scientist Valery Legasov, who helps convince apparatchik Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgard) that the situation is sufficiently grave that it can’t be covered up. — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 May 2026 However, Pratt, who has signed up for a reality series following his campaign, also has attracted MAGA support from the likes of James Woods, ex-Kennedy Center chief and apparatchik Richard Grenell and Brian Glazer, which doesn’t exactly help his claims. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for apparatchik
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apparatchik
  1. minion
  2. soldier
  3. adherent
  4. lackey
Noun
  • Zoey Deutch wears minion yellow to the Los Angeles premiere of Minions & Monsters on June 28.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
  • And minions have taken over Wendy’s frosty machines with a new banana flavor.
    — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of minion
Noun
  • All the gold is gone, and there’s barely enough to pay her soldiers, let alone throw a lavish coronation.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
  • Thirty-two Cuban soldiers working security for Maduro were killed in the raid.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
Definition of soldier
Noun
  • Many liberals had been disciplined to adopt methods that purported to strictly confine legal interpretation, only to discover that their most prominent adherents, whether covertly or unconsciously, had other plans.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
  • Bridgers is a strict adherent to Attenborough’s Law.
    — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026
Definition of adherent
Noun
  • After Wally springs her from the Shaw's clutches, the group manages to lure the couple and some of their lackeys into the makeshift particle accelerator trap that former engineer Sam built out of old cathode-ray tube TVs.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 21 May 2026
  • That means, of course, she’s now been phased out of her role as a factory lackey in dystopian near-future Brazil due to her age.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Apr. 2026
Definition of lackey

Browse Nearby Words

appanages
apparatchik
apparatchiks
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Cite this Entry

“Apparatchik.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apparatchik. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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