apparatchik

noun

Definition of apparatchiknext
as in minion
disapproving a very loyal member of an organization (such as a company or political party) who always obeys orders party apparatchiks

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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 apparatchik The group ventriloquized the voices of authority—parents, school principals, cops, military officers, judges, politicians, newscasters, Soviet apparatchiks—and turned them into expressions of mass insanity. — Andrew Katzenstein, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026 Regardless, the new corporate owners of the network, embodied by the late, great Robert Duvall‘s C-suite apparatchik, get on board. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2026 This agitprop is vomited out 24/7 by Democrat media apparatchiks who were also unerringly described by Orwell in his novel 1984. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 11 Oct. 2025 Modi began his career as an RSS apparatchik before being sent by the organization to work for the BJP. — Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 30 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for apparatchik
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apparatchik
  1. minion
  2. soldier
  3. adherent
  4. lackey
Noun
  • Perhaps if this was any team other than the Yankees — where all of Hal Steinbrenner’s minions appear to have lifetime contracts — Aaron Boone’s status as manager would be coming under intense scrutiny about now.
    — Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026
  • The minions have appeared in six films since — three Despicable Me movies and, making the jump from sidekicks to stars, three Minions movies.
    — Taylor Swinton, Washington Post, 3 July 2026
Definition of minion
Noun
  • All the gold is gone, and there’s barely enough to pay her soldiers, let alone throw a lavish coronation.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
  • Thirty-two Cuban soldiers working security for Maduro were killed in the raid.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
Definition of soldier
Noun
  • Baric worked closely with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which many adherents to the lab-leak theory posit as the source of the pandemic; one contingent thinks that Baric might have been the creator of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
  • Many liberals had been disciplined to adopt methods that purported to strictly confine legal interpretation, only to discover that their most prominent adherents, whether covertly or unconsciously, had other plans.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
Definition of adherent
Noun
  • The sculpture included Teddy mounted on a striding horse with two lackeys walking on either side.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026
  • The problem is, Reigns still acts like a heel while Jey Uso, despite winning the Royal Rumble and becoming world champion, is back to being his lackey.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026
Definition of lackey

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Cite this Entry

“Apparatchik.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apparatchik. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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