civil servants

plural of civil servant
as in officials
a worker in a government agency took the examination to become a civil servant in the defense department

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 civil servants Local governments are running deficits, with many struggling to pay teachers and civil servants their salaries and benefits on time. — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026 The federal government had also been squeezing the region economically, by withholding funds needed to pay Tigray’s civil servants and limiting access to banks and fuel, according to the TPLF. — Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026 Experts say the Houthis have struggled to pay salaries to civil servants, including public sector doctors and diverted most tax revenues to their military wing. — Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 The junta has tried to compel civil servants living in Myanmar to come back to work. — Andrew Nachemson, The Dial, 22 Sep. 2026 The money was nominally to pay civil servants and prop up infrastructure in a territory sequestered by an Israeli blockade, but many observers agreed that Hamas diverted a significant sum to its military wing. — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026 Unfortunately, many, specifically our dedicated federal civil servants, have been undermined, laid off, pushed out. — Brendan Griffith, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026 Such a large amount is a shock to ordinary civil servants who earn six or seven thousand yuan a month. — Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026 Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has become central to a local corruption scandal, due to the conduct of civil servants who allegedly accepted bribes to grant exorbitant construction contracts for public work. — News Desk, Artforum, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil servants
Noun
  • The claim that Ukraine has halted its strikes on energy sites could not be independently verified, but neither Russian officials nor media have reported Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries since the energy truce was announced.
    — HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The Houthis bombed the corporate HQ of Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, officials said.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • It is often weakened by attacks on the institutions and public servants sworn to uphold it.
    — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The Dominican government also offers Creole language training for some public servants.
    — Kendall Medford, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The program—announced at the Ai Everything conference in the capital–will give government employees hands-on experience with tools such as ChatGPT, Codex, and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
    — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Keith David, Macon Blair, Killer Mike, Cody Lightning, Siena East, and Michael Hitchcock all return as some of Lee’s Tulsa-area buddies, employees, and resentful acquaintances.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Modern-day courtiers and princes–to say nothing of bureaucrats–should not be the ones deciding what gets made and who gets to see it.
    — Christopher Koopman, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
  • These are scientists, academics, and bureaucrats speaking with their own distinct terminology and often talking past one another.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • As part of orchestrating this project, Simon was also involved in securing visas for the various international performers, encountering in the process the uneven access to travel for cultural workers across classes, nationalities, and milieus.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The circumstances and cultural details may vary, but these unequal power dynamics between families and their domestic workers exist everywhere, to different degrees.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Williams — who lost reelection to current Secretary of State Jena Griswold in 2018 — said Griswold’s office bears some responsibility for the error and should have reached out to county clerks about the district boundary changes.
    — Katie Langford, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The election inspectors must disclose their political affiliation to help the clerks ensure balanced staffing – claiming independent or unaffiliated is not an option for these roles.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Civil servants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20servants. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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