1
as in officials
a person who holds a public office
spoke to high-ranking functionaries at the embassy in the hopes that they could help
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in bureaucrats
a worker in a government agency
the faceless functionaries at the Internal Revenue Service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of functionaries
This Levantine subculture socialized in French, voiced endearments in Arabic, communicated with functionaries in Turkish.
—
Joseph O’Neill,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
More than funding, though, is needed transparency by IDNR functionaries with marina boaters and Winthrop Harbor officials.
—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Their prestige suffers because it is conflated in the public’s mind with long lines at the DMV, fastidious building inspectors, parking tickets—the stuff of local functionaries.
—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Bigelow’s sympathetic eye for her functionaries risks the film being misread as an argument for more robust military funding.
—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Evil is aided and abetted by the banality of institutions and their functionaries.
—
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Since then, there have been many more arrests—especially of regional functionaries at various levels.
—
Andrei Kolesnikov,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Sep. 2025
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.
—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
Surrounded by allies, rivals, and functionaries with their own agendas, Roh navigates a dense network of relationships in his bid to claim the top seat for himself.
—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Joseph O’Neill,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
More than funding, though, is needed transparency by IDNR functionaries with marina boaters and Winthrop Harbor officials.
—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Their prestige suffers because it is conflated in the public’s mind with long lines at the DMV, fastidious building inspectors, parking tickets—the stuff of local functionaries.
—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Bigelow’s sympathetic eye for her functionaries risks the film being misread as an argument for more robust military funding.
—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Evil is aided and abetted by the banality of institutions and their functionaries.
—
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Since then, there have been many more arrests—especially of regional functionaries at various levels.
—
Andrei Kolesnikov,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Sep. 2025
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.
—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
Surrounded by allies, rivals, and functionaries with their own agendas, Roh navigates a dense network of relationships in his bid to claim the top seat for himself.
—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionaries
Noun
-
Rodríguez said numerous public officials died in the disaster, including security personnel, municipal employees and military officers.
-
The best way to protect yourself during an earthquake is to drop, cover and hold on, officials say.
Noun
-
Giving the president more direct control over who serves on those bodies has long been a goal of conservatives, who have objected to unelected bureaucrats wielding too much power with little accountability.
-
The Bay Area was handed, unquestionably, the worst slate of group-stage games FIFA’s bureaucrats could manifest — five equivalents of a Tuesday night MACtion football game in a November blizzard.
Noun
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In one case, a 20-year-old man was caught in a sting operation after anti-corruption officers turned up posing as buyers.
-
At the scene, officers found spent shell casings and damage to a vehicle believed to have been struck by gunfire.
Noun
-
These examples echo views presented by analysts that making employees redundant while using more AI may not necessarily offer the best route to business growth.
-
Instead of pushing for forced, highly technical retraining, leaders should leverage this systemic knowledge by empowering legacy employees to use agentic AI as a data translation layer.
Noun
-
Republicans have said the change was not personal and supporters have noted that the offices of criminal and civil clerks of courts are combined in other parishes.
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Police raided two vape shops in Norwalk this week and arrested the clerks at each one after allegedly finding that the shops were illegally selling marijuana products.
Noun
-
There are fewer opportunities for younger workers to find mentors and soak up knowledge.
-
The sheriff's office says a preliminary investigation found that workers were installing underground tanks.
Noun
-
Endlessly mocked, constantly parodied, and vaguely resented, the mandarins in American civic life have no real allies or admirers.
-
Thankfully, a handful of citrus trees, including lemons, limes, and mandarins, can thrive in containers.
Cite this Entry
“Functionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionaries. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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