ministerial

adjective min·is·te·ri·al \ ˌmi-nə-ˈstir-ē-əl \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: ministerial in a Sentence

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a minister or the ministry

2 a : being or having the characteristics of an act or duty prescribed by law as part of the duties of an administrative office

b : relating to or being an act done after ascertaining the existence of a specified state of facts in obedience to a legal order without exercise of personal judgment or discretion

3 : acting or active as an agent

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ministerially

play \-ē-ə-lē\ adverb

See ministerial defined for English-language learners

See ministerial defined for kids

Examples of ministerial in a Sentence

She holds a ministerial office.
They function in a ministerial capacity in the embassy.

Recent Examples of ministerial from the Web

The meeting’s goal is to address the ministerial, pastoral, evangelization and liturgical needs of black Catholics.

— elaine ayala, San Antonio Express-News, "Black Catholics conference meeting in S.A. this weekend," 8 June 2018
While my party was in government, one ministerial colleague told me she would always ensure she was seated on the opposite side of the table when having a meeting with a particularly tactile minister.

— jo swinson, Time, "Women Now Outnumber Men in Spain's Cabinet. What's Holding Them Back Elsewhere?," 8 June 2018
Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday asked Omar al-Razzaz, a former World Bank economist, to form a new government after Hani Mulki resigned as prime minister following the country's biggest protests in years, a ministerial source said.

— suleiman al-khalidi and ellen francis, The Christian Science Monitor, "Jordan's king appoints a new PM amid widespread unrest over tax hikes," 4 June 2018
Rajoy, who got his first ministerial post in 1996, survived two election defeats before finally winning the premiership in 2011, just as Spain was grappling with the European debt crisis.

— raphael minder, BostonGlobe.com, "Spain’s Rajoy ousted in no-confidence vote," 1 June 2018
Amid stories that ministerial posts, and sums of up to 1bn rupees (around $15m) had been offered as lures, the opposition allies corralled their legislators into three hotels to shield them from outside influence.

— The Economist, "People in India often despair of their democracy," 31 May 2018
As head of state, the president of Italy, who is elected by the parliament every seven years, has the power to name the prime minister and to reject ministerial appointments.

— jonah shepp, Daily Intelligencer, "Italy’s Political Crisis Is Rattling Europe. Here’s What You Need to Know.," 30 May 2018
Normally, a summit like this would follow extensive preparations and -- and talks at the ministerial (ph) level and -- and so on, up and up and up until getting to the point that the two heads of state would meet.

— CNN, "READ: The White House's background briefing on the North Korea Summit," 27 May 2018
The talks are part of a series of ministerial-level gatherings in the run-up to the G7 leaders' summit which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will host in June in Charlevoix, Quebec.

— Fox News, "Johnson: G7 officials focus on Russia's 'malign' behavior," 23 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ministerial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ministerial

borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Medieval Latin ministeriālis "serving in an office (manorial or ecclesiastical)," going back to Late Latin, "serving, performing a duty," from Latin ministerium "activity of a servant, ministry" + -ālis ¹-al

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1561

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

ministerial Synonyms

Synonyms

clerical, pastoral, priestly, sacerdotal;

Antonyms

lay, nonclerical, secular, temporal;

apostolic, canonical, diaconal, diocesan, episcopal, papal, patriarchal, pontifical;

churchly, ecclesiastic, ecclesiastical;

divine, holy, religious, sacramental;

conventual, mendicant, monastic;

rabbinic (or rabbinical);

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

MINISTERIAL Defined for English Language Learners

ministerial

adjective

: of or relating to a government minister

Law Dictionary

ministerial

adjective min·is·te·ri·al \ ˌmi-nə-ˈstir-ē-əl \

1 : being or having the characteristics of an act or duty prescribed by law as part of the duties of an administrative office

2 : relating to or being an act done after ascertaining the existence of a specified state of facts in obedience to legal and especially statutory mandate without exercise of personal judgment or discretion — see also mandamus — compare discretionary

3 : relating to a minister or ministry