plenipotentiary

noun

Definition of plenipotentiarynext
as in ambassador
technical a person (such as a diplomat) who has complete power to do business for a government

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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 plenipotentiary Walpole’s most frequent correspondent was Horace Mann, the British plenipotentiary in Florence, Italy. — Catherine Ostler, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2022 Morris was eventually the United States’ plenipotentiary to France and spent years afterward touring Europe and having affairs there. — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 4 June 2019 These succeeded to the extent that a meeting was brought about in 1880 between plenipotentiaries of the three belligerents and the American Ministers accredited to those countries on board an American naval vessel in the harbor of Arica. — Edwin M. Borchard, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plenipotentiary
  1. ambassador
  2. diplomat
  3. diplomatist
  4. emissary
  5. legate
  6. envoy
  7. foreign minister
  8. attorney
Noun
  • Lubelo has also persuaded several friends to join the school, becoming something of an ambassador in a community where magic is often frowned upon and associated with witchcraft.
    — Julie Bourdin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The president leads the armed forces and can veto legislation, signs international treaties and appoints ambassadors.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambassador
Noun
  • Other right-wing papers were carrying the stories too, and soon after Wessel’s funeral foreign diplomats were becoming deeply concerned by the dire state of the German economy and the rise of fascism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
  • China, reluctant to pick a side in the Iran war, is reportedly being urged by its diplomats to protect relations with Gulf states as competition with the US for influence in the region heats up.
    — Damian Zane, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of diplomat
Noun
  • The trouble, rather, is that even our top foreign-policy experts and our most sophisticated diplomatists are creatures of our own cultural heritage and intellectual environment.
    — Nicholas Eberstadt, National Review, 11 Sep. 2017
Definition of diplomatist
Noun
  • But two years ago, Gyles Brandreth, an author and friend of Christopher's, traveled to New York as an emissary of Queen Camilla hoping to arrange an anniversary stay at Buckingham Palace for the 105-year-old fleecy emigres.
    — STEVE HENDRIX THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Beck was playing a shabby, malnourished musician living in a shack who acts as an emissary of a weird celebrity cult.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of emissary
Noun
  • However, papal legates—diplomatic representatives—continue their external functions.
    — Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
  • In the 1520s Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal legate of England, drove forward a similar program of moral and financial reform, winding up a further 29 monasteries.
    — Crawford Gribben, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022
Definition of legate
Noun
  • Reached Monday, Zampolli, who stepped down from his post as a special envoy to the president last week, denied he was involved with Epstein or Epstein’s recruitment of models.
    — Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Less than two decades later, the bond was tested by a scandal known as the XYZ Affair, in which France’s foreign minister, Talleyrand, demanded bribes from American envoys to Paris.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of envoy
Noun
  • After losing the 1999 election, Netanyahu returned to government in 2002 as foreign minister and later served as finance minister.
    — Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Less than two decades later, the bond was tested by a scandal known as the XYZ Affair, in which France’s foreign minister, Talleyrand, demanded bribes from American envoys to Paris.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of foreign minister
Noun
  • The city attorney will finalize the formal contract for future council ratification.
    — Randy Moll, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • All three men are planning to address the court, and their attorneys will give a presentation on each brother’s behalf, according to court filings.
    — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of attorney

Browse Nearby Words

plenipotentiaries
plenipotentiary
plenitude
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“Plenipotentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plenipotentiary. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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