delegated

verb

past tense of delegate
1
as in appointed
to appoint as one's representative he delegated his son to go pick up the tickets for him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in handed
to put (something) into the possession or safekeeping of another a manager who is reluctant to delegate authority to subordinates

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 delegated When competing demands become overwhelming, triage your work into what has the greatest impact, what still needs to be done, and what can be deleted, delegated, or delayed. — Harvard Business Review, 30 Oct. 2026 Seabright found that the revision made no meaningful difference because those powers could not have been delegated to Essayli in the first place. — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026 However, federal law technically gives HHS authority over essentially all drug regulations, which are then delegated to the FDA. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026 As organizations determine which activities belong to humans and which can be delegated to intelligent systems, work is being redesigned. — Jo Debecker, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026 Reagan delegated a lot of his authority, creating a power struggle of wannabe Presidents among his advisers. — Bob Woodward, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 Something may need to be postponed, delegated, or simplified. — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 4 Oct. 2026 Nuclear power appears to be the only core task that China has delegated to its partner in the lunar project. — Selam Gebrekidan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delegated
  1. appointed
  2. handed
  3. commissioned
  4. entrusted
  5. deputized
  6. transferred
  7. gave
  8. delivered
Verb
  • Then last month, Kwan appointed former Rwandan Minister of State for Infrastructure Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye as RFO’s principal of emerging markets and business development to drive investment flows between Asia and Africa.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of appointed
Verb
  • Eighty-eight years later, medical professionals won dramatic victories as part of the sweeping blue wave that handed Democrats control of Congress and many state and local offices.
    — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Often, parents are handed an outdated brochure and sent on their way, Silsby said.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of handed
Verb
  • The archivist explained to me that this was a concert that David had commissioned in 1978, and the materials hadn’t been touched in nearly 40 years.
    — Jem Aswad, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Construction began at the Sevmash shipyard on December 26, 2014, and the Russian Navy commissioned the vessel in 2022.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of commissioned
Verb
  • The rifle is entrusted to the goat herder’s two young sons, who end up firing it from a mountainside at a coach filled with Western tourists just to see how far the bullet would go.
    — Ray Bennett, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Some supporting players go underutilized (Jack as well as the scheming, wannabe power couple, Oscar and Enid), while unworthy regulars become story anchors entrusted with too much emotional weight.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of entrusted
Verb
  • Cutforth also was deputized when Madsen went down with an injury late last season.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 1 Nov. 2026
  • More than 29,000 officers were deputized by ICE between January 2025 and October 2026.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of deputized
Verb
  • Instead, the case begins in juvenile court, where a judge must decide whether the minor can be transferred.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The coil was transferred from the facility to a transport frame on October 30.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of transferred
Verb
  • Rocket Lab was supposed to have a satellite on standby to go up and inspect True Anomaly’s spacecraft, ready to launch on short notice once military officials gave the order.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 26 June 2026
  • Additionally, prosecutors allege Rincker gave Alvarez a 12-gauge pump action shotgun, Jamioles said.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 23 June 2026
Definition of gave
Verb
  • Wyatt needed an onside kick recovery for any chance of an improbable comeback and Adrian Dunn delivered.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2026
  • During the day, activities center around lectures, delivered by enthusiastic expedition team members.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of delivered

Browse Nearby Words

delegate
delegated
delegatee
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Delegated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delegated. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 abandon

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

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
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All