as in scribe
one who writes from dictation or copies manuscripts
thanks to the efforts of his dutiful amanuensis, copies of most of the author's letters and unpublished manuscripts have been preserved
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Recent Examples of amanuensis
Groff, the three-time National Book Award finalist and best-selling author, wrote the libretto with Doraiswamy and served as a kind of amanuensis to the production.
—
Laura Van Straaten, New York Times, 11 July 2025
The journalist’s tone was snarky, but there were some direct quotes from my father’s amanuenses.
—Sage Mehta, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
By Hillary Kelly The story goes that John Milton—who went blind in his early 40s—composed 20 lines of Paradise Lost in his mind each evening, and then repeated them aloud the next day to an assortment of amanuenses, among them his three daughters.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2024
The character in the movie has an amanuensis.
—Susan Morrison, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2021
Francesca, one of her former students, works tirelessly as Lydia’s factotum, amanuensis, and personal assistant, in the expectation of becoming her assistant conductor in Berlin.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2022
Intermittent presidential advisor and capital-class amanuensis Larry Summers has, in similar terms, endorsed the idea that American workers must give up their labor market gains in order to end inflation.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 6 Aug. 2022
Andy had aided him in his earliest experiments, serving first as something of a guinea-pig-cum-amanuensis.
—Kent Russell, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022
There’s a religious scribe named Nahman of Busk, who functions as Jacob’s amanuensis and whose diary entries depict a man struggling with the idea that enlightenment might not really be all that useful.
—Jake Bittle, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2022
Laura Van Straaten, New York Times, 11 July 2025
The journalist’s tone was snarky, but there were some direct quotes from my father’s amanuenses.
—Sage Mehta, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
By Hillary Kelly The story goes that John Milton—who went blind in his early 40s—composed 20 lines of Paradise Lost in his mind each evening, and then repeated them aloud the next day to an assortment of amanuenses, among them his three daughters.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2024
The character in the movie has an amanuensis.
—Susan Morrison, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2021
Francesca, one of her former students, works tirelessly as Lydia’s factotum, amanuensis, and personal assistant, in the expectation of becoming her assistant conductor in Berlin.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2022
Intermittent presidential advisor and capital-class amanuensis Larry Summers has, in similar terms, endorsed the idea that American workers must give up their labor market gains in order to end inflation.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 6 Aug. 2022
Andy had aided him in his earliest experiments, serving first as something of a guinea-pig-cum-amanuensis.
—Kent Russell, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022
There’s a religious scribe named Nahman of Busk, who functions as Jacob’s amanuensis and whose diary entries depict a man struggling with the idea that enlightenment might not really be all that useful.
—Jake Bittle, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for amanuensis
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Noun
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The move doesn’t mean that the union’s scribes can suddenly start working with Emmett again, as the producer and his companies still aren’t signatories with the WGA West.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
1 July 2025
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In a guide to Latin grammar, the margins are filled with scribes’ mundane notes, providing small clues about their everyday lives.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Amanuensis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/amanuensis. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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