MINISTRY Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

ministry

noun

ˈmi-nə-strē

Definition of ministry

as in instrumentality

something used to achieve an end I don't care by what ministry it's accomplished, so long as it's done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in clergy

the group ordained to perform clerical functions in the Christian church the ranks of the ministry have dwindled considerably in recent years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

laity

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 ministry However, the foreign ministries of both countries have not confirmed the revenue sharing. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026 That criticism prompted the finance ministry to publish an update earlier this month showing that about $137 million had already been disbursed to three projects. — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Neither the Taiwanese ministry nor museum, however, received a response from the Biennale. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Besides Humain, the company’s Saudi clients include Aramco, STC and Al Rajhi, along with various ministries and other public-sector entities, according to its latest annual report. — Omar El Chmouri, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ministry

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ministry

Noun

Issued by the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, a state instrumentality created under the Wyoming Stable Token Act (2023), FRNT is fully reserved and managed in partnership with Franklin Templeton.

— Jason Brett, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Holding the weight of cotton’s influence on the world, and thus the instrumentality of Black labor, is painful, yet necessary work.

— Cierra Black, Essence, 9 July 2025

Definition of instrumentality

Noun

The blowers want to get the sounds, which are called out by a clergy member in front of the congregation in a specific order, just right.

— Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
After his victory, Daley appointed Bowen as an executive assistant tasked with liaising between the mayor’s office and Chicago’s Black clergy.

— Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of clergy

Noun

The Gulf states have experimented with ship-to-ship transfers and other means of moving crude around Iranian restrictions.

— Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
Living with endometriosis means becoming an expert on highly specialized ingredients and constantly cross-checking product labels.

— Bella Webb, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of means

Noun

Investigators later determined the shooter fired more than 100 rounds from a rifle into the church.

— Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
And in 1911 a disgruntled ex-Mormon hid a camera under his coat and snapped surreptitious photos of the temple’s interior in an unsuccessful attempt to blackmail the church.

— Brandon Griggs, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of church

Noun

During an operation, a surgeon controls robotic arms fitted with small instruments while viewing the surgical area through a three-dimensional vision system.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
In the meantime, the observatory will go through commissioning — testing out its instruments in space and deploying the antenna that will relay Roman’s massive imagery back to Earth.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of instrument

Noun

Police said the two of them then left in separate vehicles, with the woman following Jacobs to try to get her phone back.

— Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
After flooding the courtyard, crushing vehicles and destroying part of one of the surrounding buildings, the liquid flowed into the buildings’ lower floors, where workers were holding morning meetings.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of vehicle

Noun

Rogue OpenAI agents’ unprecedented coordination during the Hugging Face attack significantly increases the risk of AI escaping human control, analysts said, days after investigators released a bombshell report into the incident.

— Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 Aug. 2026
This was followed by the creation of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) on July 22 to handle espionage and resistance agents, and the first raids were already being carried out.

— David Szondy August 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of agent

Noun

Anthropic wanted assurance that its technology would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, and the DOD wanted Anthropic to grant the agency unfettered access to Claude across all lawful purposes.

— Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Currently, free agency begins five days after the World Series, with no expiration on when players can sign.

— Evan Drellich, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of agency

Browse Nearby Words

ministries

ministry

minivan

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ministry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ministry. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ministry

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on ministry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dissonant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes