Thesaurus results for BUREAUCRAT

bureaucrat

noun

ˈbyu̇r-ə-ˌkrat

Definition of bureaucrat

as in clerk

a worker in a government agency the bureaucrats at the town hall seem to think that we need a building permit to build a tree house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 bureaucrat The nearly two-minute spot depicts a club-wielding bureaucrat chasing and tripping a child on a bike and another stealing a boy’s scooter. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026 Darline Graham, 62, is a longtime state bureaucrat in South Carolina government who since 2019 has worked as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026 The bureaucrats who failed to prevent the fraud often remain anonymous. — Sreedhar Potarazu, Baltimore Sun, 19 Aug. 2026 America’s goal should be more cures, more treatment options and better care, not fewer innovations dictated by Washington bureaucrats. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bureaucrat

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bureaucrat

Noun

Requests for comment sent to the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office and the local circuit court clerk were not immediately returned.

— Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2026
The court clerk of Oklahoma’s Western District declined to comment on behalf of the district and the judges.

— Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of clerk

Noun

City officials asked people to avoid the downtown area where police are investigating the shooting.

— Michael Loria, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
In 2019, officials introduced a state-of-the-art recovery room under Arthur Ashe Stadium where players can go during their breaks for treatments and rest.

— Aaron Short, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of official

Noun

This was no gangsta rap Nuremberg, but rather something closer to the trial of Adolf Eichmann — a case tried decades later in which the aging defendant wasn’t the actual killer but a banal middleman, a functionary and a lethal node of transport.

— Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
Played completely deadpan by Konopka, the character beneath this daft assemblage of aesthetic choices makes no real sense as a functionary in this dry, dark future, much less as its hero.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of functionary

Noun

Singapore pays its political leaders high salaries to attract talent and deter graft, but the issue is thorny in the city-state, where the median wage worker made S$5,775 ($736) a month in 2025.

— Reuters, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026
To give workers more, the DSA would basically end capitalism.

— Nolan Finley The Detroit News, Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of worker

Noun

The first phase is expected to be completed in 2029 and will bring together at least 3,000 employees.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Rudin had stepped away from producing in 2021, after a Hollywood Reporter story detailed multiple claims from Rudin’s former employees of bullying and verbal abuse as well as throwing objects at staff.

— Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of employee

Browse Nearby Words

bureau

bureaucrat

bureaucratese

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bureaucrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bureaucrat. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of bureaucrat

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

stigma

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

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

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes