administer

verb

əd-ˈmi-nə-stər How to pronounce administer (audio)
Definition of administernext
1
as in to distribute
to give out (something) to appropriate individuals the principal administers discipline fairly when students break the rules

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to enforce
to carry out effectively local officials should see that the fair housing laws are rigorously administered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to manage
to look after and make decisions about the lieutenant governor administers the affairs of the state in the absence of the governor

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 administer The recommendations would upend decades of federal guidance on which vaccines are administered to children, just as the school year is about to begin in many states. — Richard Escobedo, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026 In addition, the order recommends that childhood immunizations be administered at separate medical visits, which in practice could more than double the number of doctor appointments for children — and could mean more copays, as well. — Erika Edwards, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026 The main changes come to the MMR vaccine — short for measles, mumps, and rubella — which right now, is administered in two doses. — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026 The conflict played out under the watchful eye of Johnson’s senior adviser, Jason Lee — an unusual involvement for a high-ranking mayoral staffer, given that the $8 million grant is administered by a separate department. — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for administer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for administer
  1. distribute
  2. enforce
  3. manage
  4. dispense
  5. implement
  6. supervise
  7. provide
  8. oversee
Verb
  • Uganda received its first batch of nearly 20,000 doses of lenacapavir in February and began distributing it in April, one month behind schedule.
    — Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Images distributed by Iran’s semiofficial news agency ISNA showed oil fouling the island's beaches.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of distribute
Verb
  • Open weights run locally with no vendor-side control surface, so no vendor can enforce a prohibition for you.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Chinese courts have also widened their reach over cross-border disputes, particularly in global patent litigation, by ordering parties not to pursue or enforce competing proceedings abroad.
    — Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of enforce
Verb
  • Carrick named an unchanged line-up in four of his 17 Premier League games last season — a feat Amorim managed just once.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Orlando’s best chance of the first half came in the 31st minute when Simone Jackson hit the crossbar, but the Pride managed little else going forward and went into the break trailing.
    — Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of manage
Verb
  • That’s the takeaway from an incident in the small city of Chuzhou, China, after a large langue model dispensed some advice that led to the untimely death of 25 acres worth of produce.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The new law prohibits drugmakers from restricting the number or types of pharmacies that hospitals and other providers can contract with to dispense medications to their patients through a federal program called the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
    — Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of dispense
Verb
  • On Friday, authorities began implementing rotating 48-hour water shut-offs in parts of the capital San Juan, as well as neighborhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas, and Loiza.
    — Victoria Arancio, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • On Thursday, a judge found Meta had created a public nuisance and ordered it to pay an additional $567 million and implement youth-safety measures.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of implement
Verb
  • Nick Martin, a DOT supervising engineer and project manager for the bridge rehab, answered that the choices aren’t that simple.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Becoming a therapist requires years of education, supervised practice, licensing examinations and often substantial student debt.
    — Wayne Lonstein, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of supervise
Verb
  • The organization is also providing feminine hygiene products as well.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • In response to a Herald inquiry, Borghesani provided the 12 months of spending for Hayden’s personal p-card.
    — Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of provide
Verb
  • Hines, 66, appealed unsuccessfully to the governor and the courts, saying that the doctor who oversaw the May execution was unqualified and likely to botch his execution as well.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The new owners took over the keys to a tired and decaying club in the spring and have since overseen a summer renovation that has stretched from assembling a new first-team squad to restoring hot water to Hillsborough.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of oversee

Phrases Containing administer

Browse Nearby Words

admeasuring
administer
administered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Administer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/administer. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on administer

Nglish: Translation of administer for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All