appointee

noun

ap·​poin·​tee ə-ˌpȯin-ˈtē 

ˌa-

1

: one who is appointed

2

: one to whom an estate is appointed

Synonyms of appointee

• nominee
• candidate

Examples of appointee in a Sentence

the announcement of the presidential appointees to the cabinet

Recent Examples on the Web

If a vacancy occurred at least 130 days before the next statewide direct primary election, an appointee would serve temporarily, and voters would choose a supervisor at that election to complete the remainder of the term. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Floated earlier this year, a separate bid to have political appointees—rather than independent expert panels—decide grant recipients garnered significant backlash. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026

Under Dhillon, however, the front office, which is made up of political appointees and ideological allies, has removed the usual career staff from the process and taken the lead in hiring. — Ryan Lucas, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026

Though a shakeup in the midterms might well mess with the routines of loyal Trump appointees like Patel, on this night, chugging beers on the rooftop at the rink, Kash was king. — Richie McGinniss, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for appointee

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy

Kids Definition

appointee

noun

ap·​poin·​tee ə-ˌpȯin-ˈtē 

ˌa-ˌpȯin-

: a person appointed to a position or an office

Legal Definition

appointee

noun

ap·​poin·​tee ə-ˌpȯin-ˈtē, ˌa- 

1

: a person who is appointed to a position

2

: a person to whom property is appointed under a power of appointment