commission 1 of 2

noun

kə-ˈmi-shən How to pronounce commission (audio)
Definition of commissionnext
1
as in mandate
the granting of power to perform various acts or duties President Jefferson's commission to Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in execution
the doing of an action a single burglar was responsible for the commission of all the break-ins

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in committee
a select group of persons assigned to consider or take action on some matter reported to a UN commission on the AIDS crisis

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in appointment
the state or fact of being chosen for a position or duty her commission as head of the investigation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

commission

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to appoint
to appoint as one's representative plans to commission a deputy to investigate the matter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to enable
to give official or legal power to was commissioned lieutenant

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to task
to give a task, duty, or responsibility to was commissioned to do the biography

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to nominate
to pick (someone) by one's authority for a specific position or duty commissioned him to head the office of veterans affairs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 commission
Noun
The largest California state worker union, SEIU Local 1000, represents nine of those units and includes employees of about 140 total state departments, boards, commissions and other bodies. — Michael McGough, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026 Still, the competition among jewelers is becoming more intense, not only for sports team’s commissions but also to design ever flashier pieces with intricate details. — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
Zen also plans to add a marketplace where users can commission artwork from freelance artists. — ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026 But that initial redo, commissioned by the BBC, also started by shaking up the approach. — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for commission
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commission
  1. mandate
  2. execution
  3. committee
  4. appointment
  5. appoint
  6. enable
  7. task
  8. nominate
Noun
  • This, despite Lin meeting his mandates to curb spending and make movies that resonated with subscribers.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In other words, as our report notes, government mandates to seek truth are often driven by ideological belief systems, particularly on political issues.
    — Jordi Calvet-Bademunt, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of mandate
Noun
  • Checking plans before execution The team also developed a defense system called PROTEA, designed to identify unsafe actions before a robot carries them out.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Access limits, independent authorization, audit trails and mechanisms to stop execution should reflect the consequences of misuse or error.
    — Manny Khan, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of execution
Noun
  • The money raised by the candidates is eclipsed by the funds raised by outside committees working on each candidate’s behalf, which aren’t bound by contribution limits.
    — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The commission’s investigatory unit will first probe the situation, according to the commission’s website, and then present its findings to its probable cause committee.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of committee
Noun
  • Stubbs’s appointment fills one of two open seats on the Trust.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Document frequency, track triggers like screens and HVAC exposure and bring that record to your appointment.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of appointment
Verb
  • He was appointed by Commissioner Richard Lara to serve on the city’s charter review committee and recently resigned from the city’s planning and zoning board to run for office.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Rooms Standard rooms are classic in look and feel with dark wood furniture and neutral fabrics, yet appointed with modern embellishments such as universal outlets and bedside light controls.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of appoint
Verb
  • That flexibility, whether enabled by SSTs or other controls, could lower costs and speed up grid connections.
    — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Chain bookselling, which enabled the unification of the reading market, was one of the first heralds of a globalizing age.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of enable
Verb
  • Her only son was at her bedside alone, tasked with the decision to donate her organs.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • To addressed these limitations, Anthropic tasked an internal Claude research model with designing minibinders, small proteins engineered to attach to specific targets.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of task
Verb
  • Over the course of her long career, Curtis, 67, has developed a lengthy résumé in film and television, winning numerous accolades along the way, including an Oscar and an Emmy (she’s been nominated for a Grammy too — there’s still time for an EGOT).
    — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Sakharov winner is chosen by the European Parliament's president and top EU lawmakers from among candidates nominated by the parliament’s various political groups.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of nominate

Phrases Containing commission

Browse Nearby Words

commissary
commission
commissioned
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Commission.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commission. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on commission

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about commission

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All