as in officials
a worker in a government agency
took the examination to become a civil servant in the defense department
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Recent Examples of civil servants
Advertisement Even if its opponents see through the junta’s election, with some ethnic armed organizations denouncing the election, the vote could provide reassurance to its own ranks, civil servants, and supporters and shore up morale and discipline within the armed forces.
—
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 23 Jan. 2026
Onstage, Gemmill made sure to thank all the first responders and civil servants.
—Breanne L. Heldman, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Still, there’s no denying that Washington contains the densest concentration of civil servants—and the story of that caste is a morality tale.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Without explicit training, civil servants risk assuming that a system that writes like an expert also counts like one.
—Arkansas Online, 8 Jan. 2026
And to mirror that successful PC Home Reform policy from the 90s, the Prime Minister this year supported a Swedish AI Reform scheme that makes agentic AI free for all civil servants, students, teachers, research institutions, and non-profits.
—Oscar Täckström, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
A lot of long-time career civil servants who were good at delivering products for the American citizens.
—CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
Across the country, tens of thousands of civil servants are rushing to input voter details into a database, by hand.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
By the start of December 2025, over 200,000 civil servants had left the federal workforce, including nearly 5,000 from NASA, 600 from NSF and at least 14,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent department of NIH.
—Kenneth M. Evans, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 23 Jan. 2026
Onstage, Gemmill made sure to thank all the first responders and civil servants.
—Breanne L. Heldman, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Still, there’s no denying that Washington contains the densest concentration of civil servants—and the story of that caste is a morality tale.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Without explicit training, civil servants risk assuming that a system that writes like an expert also counts like one.
—Arkansas Online, 8 Jan. 2026
And to mirror that successful PC Home Reform policy from the 90s, the Prime Minister this year supported a Swedish AI Reform scheme that makes agentic AI free for all civil servants, students, teachers, research institutions, and non-profits.
—Oscar Täckström, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
A lot of long-time career civil servants who were good at delivering products for the American citizens.
—CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
Across the country, tens of thousands of civil servants are rushing to input voter details into a database, by hand.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
By the start of December 2025, over 200,000 civil servants had left the federal workforce, including nearly 5,000 from NASA, 600 from NSF and at least 14,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent department of NIH.
—Kenneth M. Evans, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil servants
Noun
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The process for deciding on Powell’s replacement began in September with an 11-candidate field that included past and current Fed officials, economists and Wall Street investment professionals.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
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Washington County officials issued a shelter-in-place notice for the Langeloth neighborhood over concerns about a potential release of hydrogen peroxide into the air, although the notice has since been lifted.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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A number of other democracies require some public servants to retire at the age of 75.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
As public servants, you are dedicated to the rule of law.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The memo was included in a disclosure to senators by Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit legal organization, based on information provided by two of their clients, government employees who are not named in the document.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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So when an attack sends most employees into its shelter, at least two people must remain at the control panel to manage the system.—
Svitlana Vlasova,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The bureaucrats operating Obamacare couldn’t care less about the taxpayers footing the bill.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
18 Jan. 2026
-
The children of wealthy law-firm partners and humble bureaucrats attended the same schools.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
25 Jan. 2026
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That act – passed in the wake of a wave of terror by government workers affiliated with racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan – does not apply to federal employees and could not be used in a case against Ross.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The statute applies to a wide range of public officials — constitutional officers, state’s attorneys, county clerks, public defenders, members of boards of election commissioners, and both current and former state lawmakers.—
Jack O'Connor,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
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Any time someone goes to a polling location to vote, and the clerks are unsure if that person can vote, they are given a provisional ballot.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Civil servants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20servants. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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