delegating

verb

present participle of delegate
1
as in appointing
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 handing
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 delegating Empowering the next level of leaders—or delegating decisions downward—sounds beneficial for everyone. — Julie Williamson, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 So consider delegating some of your budget toward these home deals, including fluffy Parachute bedding that’s 33 percent off. — Alyssa Grabinski, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026 Haunted Hotel is a prime example of my strategy for delegating to people who are more talented than you. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026 Amazon has been slimming down its workforce and delegating more tasks to artificial intelligence. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 24 June 2026 The policy expands upon a school’s role in delegating speech rules, requiring them to act in a neutral manner with students. — Zaire Breedlove, Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2026 Family court officials typically strive to keep children separate from the litigation, delegating to guardians ad litem the task of determining their best interests. — Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2026 This means that an agent can’t represent an NFL player or an NBA player without obtaining a license from the NFLPA or NBPA, respectively, with the license delegating the ability to represent the athlete to the agent. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delegating
  1. appointing
  2. handing
  3. commissioning
  4. leaving
  5. transferring
  6. entrusting
  7. giving
  8. delivering
Verb
  • Earlier attempts at appointing an AI CEO—NetDragon's virtual executive Tang Yu or Dictador's humanoid CEO Mika—never approached real autonomy; both functioned largely as decision-support experiments.
    — Victor Dey, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • Keegan managed Shearer both at Newcastle and England, immediately appointing his striker as captain for the national team.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of appointing
Verb
  • After handing Powell her order, Thomas said, laughing, that moments like that had become common since opening the storefront.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
  • Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation in a post on X, handing a major victory to the youth movement that spearheaded nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 July 2026
Definition of handing
Verb
  • In difficult times and with commissioning opportunities dimming, this source queried whether there needs to be a festival at all.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 July 2026
  • President John Adams was one of the most vigorous proponents of commissioning private vessels for national ends.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 22 July 2026
Definition of commissioning
Verb
  • On the Eastern Plains near Manzanola, Alice Craig McDonald, 91, lives near the homestead her grandparents claimed after leaving Oklahoma by wagon in 1916 -- descendants of people born into slavery who came west looking for land of their own.
    — Anna Alejo, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • More than 3,200 children have been killed or injured since February 24, 2022, and more than 1,700 schools and education facilities have been damaged or destroyed, leaving one in three children without full-time in-person education.
    — Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 31 July 2026
Definition of leaving
Verb
  • Hugo Cuypers also had 13 goals before transferring from the Chicago Fire to Club de Fútbol Monterrey.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The recovery team transported Standish’s body to TCSAR headquarters in Jackson before transferring him to the Teton County Coroner’s Office.
    — Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026
Definition of transferring
Verb
  • Of course, entrusting waste management to gangsters and racketeers has repercussions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 July 2026
  • Vance is still the default nominee, and Trump entrusting him with an Iran deal that could make or break his presidency is a sign of Vance’s clout, the person added.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 28 June 2026
Definition of entrusting
Verb
  • The loss dropped the A’s to 45-63 and 10 games out of both the American League West lead and the final AL Wild Card spot, while giving the red-hot Red Sox (56-51) no worse than a split of the four-game series ahead of Thursday’s finale.
    — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2026
  • Head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes could be seen giving Royals instruction after the play.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 July 2026
Definition of giving
Verb
  • The truck driver who hit the West Markham Street pedestrian bridge July 13 had left part of the truck raised after delivering a dumpster nearby, Little Rock police concluded.
    — Grant Lancaster, Arkansas Online, 29 July 2026
  • That’s one step in delivering the value people expect and deserve from higher education.
    — Jamie Merisotis, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of delivering

Browse Nearby Words

delegates
delegating
delegation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Delegating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delegating. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on delegating

Nglish: Translation of delegating for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All