as in officials
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
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Recent Examples of bureaucrats
There’s no way to collect that money, but don’t be surprised if the city has to hire more bureaucrats to process the late fees.
—
Susan Shelley, Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
There are few things that California politicians and bureaucrats will not tax, subsidize, mandate, regulate and politicize, particularly if such a thing can be connected to environmental policy.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
The state of Connecticut should not force parents to jump through hoops held by state bureaucrats.
—Nicholas Tampio, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
Playing fast and loose with federal funds could reflect an issue within a singular agency — inadequate leadership, bad direction or rogue bureaucrats, for example.
—Steve Arentz, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026
Trump is the one person who can stop this proposal with one word to the federal bureaucrats who put forth this plan.
—Shane Weddle, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Education decisions belong with parents, not bureaucrats.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
When Vance attended the annual Munich Security Conference as a first-term senator, in 2024, he got fed up with the European Union bureaucrats and took off early to reconnect with Dreher, who had come from Budapest, over beer and sausages.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
That’s assuming state bureaucrats can even figure out the billionaires’ worth.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Susan Shelley, Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
There are few things that California politicians and bureaucrats will not tax, subsidize, mandate, regulate and politicize, particularly if such a thing can be connected to environmental policy.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
The state of Connecticut should not force parents to jump through hoops held by state bureaucrats.
—Nicholas Tampio, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
Playing fast and loose with federal funds could reflect an issue within a singular agency — inadequate leadership, bad direction or rogue bureaucrats, for example.
—Steve Arentz, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026
Trump is the one person who can stop this proposal with one word to the federal bureaucrats who put forth this plan.
—Shane Weddle, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Education decisions belong with parents, not bureaucrats.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
When Vance attended the annual Munich Security Conference as a first-term senator, in 2024, he got fed up with the European Union bureaucrats and took off early to reconnect with Dreher, who had come from Budapest, over beer and sausages.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
That’s assuming state bureaucrats can even figure out the billionaires’ worth.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bureaucrats
Noun
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District officials said Woodall was prohibited from volunteering on any campus in fall 2025 as soon as administrators became aware of the allegations.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
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These voices are heard again now, certainly from the settler movement, but also from a few government officials, including from within Netanyahu’s Likud party itself.—
Asher Kaufman,
The Conversation,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The two agents, identified as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 in the lawsuit, are part of a broader group of employees who claim they were fired over the past year over their role in the election investigation known as Arctic Frost.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Even higher-profile employees-turned-critics were ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis and former White House chief of staff John Kelly.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This is an election year for some county commissioners, clerks, treasurers, assessors and coroners in Ada and Canyon counties.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Occupations such as construction laborers, janitors, electricians, barbers, and bartenders, may largely be in the clear, whereas accountants, office clerks, customer service reps, and software developers could be the hardest hit.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
More than funding, though, is needed transparency by IDNR functionaries with marina boaters and Winthrop Harbor officials.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Their prestige suffers because it is conflated in the public’s mind with long lines at the DMV, fastidious building inspectors, parking tickets—the stuff of local functionaries.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Searches for the missing workers began late Friday after officials deployed unmanned firefighting robots to cool the structure and conducted a safety inspection.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Pahlavi’s team began putting out various plans to further erode the regime’s authority, calling on workers to strike and releasing a QR code through which defectors in the state security forces could sign on to his project, which Pahlavi claimed had elicited fifty thousand responses.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bureaucrats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bureaucrats. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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