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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Recent Examples of civil servants
Last year, approximately three hundred and fifty-two thousand civil servants left their jobs, fulfilling one of the Administration’s stated goals of dismantling the government bureaucracy and demoralizing the federal workforce.
—
Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2026
The best way to begin this journey is to bring people into this system by expanding Medicare to civil servants, military, police, and teachers.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
All told, the agency lost more than 17,000 civil servants through firings and resignations in 2025—including many scientific leaders at the FDA, CDC and NIH.
—Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026
Gezi gave way to crackdowns and an administrative witch hunt that saw thousands of academics, judges, journalists, lawyers, and civil servants jailed.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
What began with the unconstitutional targeting of law firms, universities, and non-partisan civil servants has advanced to ICE’s shocking and deadly street-level assaults.
—Chris Mattei, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2026
For civil servants, who have been unfairly vilified, erratically fired and criminally prosecuted.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system.
—Kelvin Chan, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
To date, Erdoğan has suspended or dismissed around 130,000 judges, teachers, police, and civil servants.
—Kaya Genç, The Dial, 3 Feb. 2026
Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2026
The best way to begin this journey is to bring people into this system by expanding Medicare to civil servants, military, police, and teachers.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
All told, the agency lost more than 17,000 civil servants through firings and resignations in 2025—including many scientific leaders at the FDA, CDC and NIH.
—Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026
Gezi gave way to crackdowns and an administrative witch hunt that saw thousands of academics, judges, journalists, lawyers, and civil servants jailed.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
What began with the unconstitutional targeting of law firms, universities, and non-partisan civil servants has advanced to ICE’s shocking and deadly street-level assaults.
—Chris Mattei, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2026
For civil servants, who have been unfairly vilified, erratically fired and criminally prosecuted.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system.
—Kelvin Chan, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
To date, Erdoğan has suspended or dismissed around 130,000 judges, teachers, police, and civil servants.
—Kaya Genç, The Dial, 3 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil servants
Noun
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Davis is not cleared for basketball activities and will be reevaluated in two weeks, Wizards officials said.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Although the families have identified some of the deceased, officials have not yet released the names of those killed, and extreme weather in the area has continued to stymie efforts to retrieve their remains.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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All public servants have my respect and admiration.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Reward public servants for engagement, not just efficiency.—
Garrett Lucien,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Variety has also recently reported that most WBD employees favor Netflix over Paramount as a potential buyer.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Feb. 2026
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Perplexity also funds prizes like $500 gift cards, AirPods, and Oura Rings for their clients’ employees who win a follow-up eight-week challenge to integrate AI into their workflows.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Education decisions belong with parents, not bureaucrats.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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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
Noun
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Borth and her co-workers quickly identified 11 families at their school alone who were in need of groceries the first week in January.—
Nick Woltman,
Twin Cities,
22 Feb. 2026
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Fast food workers can attest to the fact strange things happen after dark at the drive-thru, and an example played out Friday night at the McDonald’s in Henderson, North Carolina.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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My main focus is more transparency and freedom of information from the clerks office.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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Courts work collaboratively with clerks, legal aid organizations, and bar associations to expand educational materials, improve accessibility, and help people navigate the system effectively.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Civil servants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20servants. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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