minister

1 of 2

noun

min·is·ter ˈmi-nə-stər

Synonyms of minister next

: agent

the angels are ministers of the divine will—

H. P. Liddon

: one officiating or assisting the officiant in church worship

: a clergyman or clergywoman especially of a Protestant communion

: the superior (see superior entry 2 sense 1) of one of several religious orders

called also minister-general

: the assistant to the rector or the bursar of a Jesuit house

: a high officer of state entrusted with the management of a division of governmental activities

the British Minister of Defence

: a diplomatic representative (such as an ambassador) accredited to the court (see court entry 1 sense 1c) or seat of government of a foreign state

: a diplomatic representative ranking below an ambassador

minister

2 of 2

verb

ministered; ministering ˈmi-nə-st(ə-)riŋ

intransitive verb

: to function as a minister of religion

: to give aid or service

minister to the sick

Example Sentences

Noun the British ministers at the international peace conference our minister gives an interesting sermon every week

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The country’s housing minister, Megan Woods, said the building was inspected earlier this year, and met the standards of the country’s building code — including a stand-alone fire alarm system — although fire authorities confirmed Tuesday that there were no sprinklers in the building. —

Sammy Westfall, Washington Post, 15 May 2023 At that protest, demonstrators demanded the resignations of government ministers and the withdrawal of broadcast licenses for two private TV stations which are close to the state and promote violence. —

Jovana Gec And Dusan Stojanovic, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 May 2023 The interior minister called on security services to be vigilant for any efforts to destabilize the North African country. —

Bouazza Ben Bouazza, ajc, 11 May 2023 In the last four years, Ukrainian minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s portfolio has snowballed. —

Sebastien Roblin, Forbes, 5 May 2023 Maybe not exactly the same, but the similarities are well documented on TikTok. Turns out Ashley Benson and Justin himself also have the tattoo as a tribute to the founder and minister of Zoe Church Chad Veach’s daughter Georgia, who has the rare brain disorder lissencephaly. —

Zoë Haylock, Vulture, 1 May 2023 In order to properly address antisemitism, there has to be clarity on what antisemitism is in order to properly address it, said Berry, a minister at Dallas West Church of Christ. —

Everton Bailey Jr., Dallas News, 29 Apr. 2023 There were Uma Thurman, British cabinet ministers, and Bollywood stars. —

Janine Di Giovanni, Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2023 The new law helps couples getting married in New York avoid misunderstandings regarding the validity of nontraditional ministers. —

Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023

Verb

The priests had spent the last two decades ministering to U.S. military personnel, veterans, and their beneficiaries at the medical center. —

Heather Hunter, Washington Examiner, 9 Apr. 2023 The couple, along with Elizabeth Lumpkin, were active members of the Great Banquet, a Christian religious leadership program that ministered in jails and elsewhere. —

John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Apr. 2023 Lentz, who once ministered to Justin Bieber and other stars, was a pastor at Hillsong, until he was fired in 2020 after having an extramarital affair. —

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023 The ultimate goal is to replicate the entire job of the pancreatic control system, so that patients will no longer have to minister to themselves. —

Boris Kovatchev, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Nov. 2021 While many believe Patrick was responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland, History.com reports his mission was to minister to existing Irish Christians as well as convert non-Christians. —

Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2023 Deprived of face-to-face contact with his parishioners during the height of the pandemic, Michael Coren, an Anglican priest, had to get creative to minister to the sick, the dying, the elderly, and the lonely. —

Krista Stevens, Longreads, 19 Jan. 2023 The trip will also allow Francis to minister to Bahrain’s Catholic community, which numbers around 80,000 in a country of around 1.5 million. —

Nicole Winfield, ajc, 3 Nov. 2022 Our federal workforce, however flawed, is an engine of fairness that strives to consistently minister to the needs of all Americans. —

Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 23 Sep. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'minister.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ministre "servant, ecclesiastic, priest, official serving a superior, agent," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin minister "servant, ecclesiastic (short for Deī minister "servant of god"), agent, official," going back to Latin, "servant, priest's attendant, agent," formed from minor-, minus "less, lesser" (with the suffix of location and opposition -ter) after magister "manager, master entry 1" — more at minus entry 1

Verb

Middle English ministren, borrowed from Anglo-French ministrer, borrowed from Latin ministrāre "to act as a servant, serve, supply" (Late Latin, "to serve as an ecclesiastic"), derivative of minister "servant, minister entry 1"

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of minister was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century