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
Thailand has suspended overseas travel for civil servants and urged them to take stairs instead of elevators.
—
Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
There are cash shortages, and the salaries for civil servants haven’t been paid out, even for many Houthi fighters.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
On March 10, Thailand ordered civil servants to take the stairs rather than the elevator, and to work-from-home for the duration of the crisis.
—Angelica Ang, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
And third, the core AXIS study team, which was headquartered at Goddard Space Flight Center, was dominated by NASA civil servants who were furloughed during the 6-week-long shutdown in late 2025.
—Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered civil servants to conserve energy and work from home among a raft of measures that also include a suspension of overseas trips and using stairs instead of escalators.
—Rebecca Shabad, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Thailand has suspended overseas travel for civil servants and urged them to take stairs instead of elevators.
—Paul Wiseman, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Many mullahs have become, in effect, civil servants in turbans.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
That’s why civil servants in national security, disaster relief and federal science have long taken pains to avoid the political fray.
—Michael Chertoff, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2026
Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
There are cash shortages, and the salaries for civil servants haven’t been paid out, even for many Houthi fighters.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
On March 10, Thailand ordered civil servants to take the stairs rather than the elevator, and to work-from-home for the duration of the crisis.
—Angelica Ang, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
And third, the core AXIS study team, which was headquartered at Goddard Space Flight Center, was dominated by NASA civil servants who were furloughed during the 6-week-long shutdown in late 2025.
—Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered civil servants to conserve energy and work from home among a raft of measures that also include a suspension of overseas trips and using stairs instead of escalators.
—Rebecca Shabad, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Thailand has suspended overseas travel for civil servants and urged them to take stairs instead of elevators.
—Paul Wiseman, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Many mullahs have become, in effect, civil servants in turbans.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
That’s why civil servants in national security, disaster relief and federal science have long taken pains to avoid the political fray.
—Michael Chertoff, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil servants
Noun
-
Heather Hughes, senior vice president of strategic alignment at the YMCA of the USA, has joined the board of directors of the DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville, officials announced.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
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Los Angeles County public health officials issued a bacteria warning at several beaches as a potentially record-breaking heat wave arrives in Southern California.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But dismissing public servants as lazy, overpaid or uncaring ignores the reality of the people doing the work — and undermines our ability to attract the talent needed to govern well.—
John Atkinson,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The perpetrators were not children, but knowledgeable adults who willfully chose to harass public servants.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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What mattered to Anthropic was a guarantee that Claude would have nothing to do with the analysis of bulk data collected domestically, an issue especially salient to its employees in the context of ongoing ICE raids.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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But the fact that employees still showed up, including without pay during last year’s federal government shutdown, demonstrates their commitment to keeping the beloved parks flourishing.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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The state of Connecticut should not force parents to jump through hoops held by state bureaucrats.—
Nicholas Tampio,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Some workers complain that receiving calls and messages can interrupt their recordings, and having a phone strapped to their head is uncomfortable.—
NILESH CHRISTOPHER LOS ANGELES TIMES,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026
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The department eventually helped a hundred and sixty-one workers recover on average roughly three thousand dollars in wages each.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Mackinac Island's tourist season is mainly from May through October, and the island needs about 5,000 seasonal workers each year to work as baristas, front desk attendants, wait staff, retail clerks and housekeepers.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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Of the 221 positions being cut — which include paraeducators, assistants, clerks, custodians, special-education staff, food service staff and more — 88 are already vacant, the district said.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Civil servants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20servants. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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