as in appointing
to appoint as one's representative
he deputized a local citizen to take charge of the situation while he went for reinforcements
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Recent Examples of deputizing
Today, the program allows the Department of Homeland Security to form agreements with state and local law enforcement, deputizing them to enforce federal immigration law.
—
Robin Grammer, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2026
State lawmakers have pushed policies that include deputizing campus police departments to assist federal immigration enforcement, restricting partnerships with institutions tied to countries such as China and Venezuela and increasing scrutiny of foreign students.
—Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
One part of his strategy has involved deputizing some local and state police forces through a decades-old federal program.
—Lexi Salazar, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
Vance also announced that the administration was deputizing a new assistant attorney general to prosecute the abuse of government assistance programs in response to growing attention to fraud in childcare programs in Minnesota.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Lang’s proposals have raised concerns among legal experts, who say deputizing private militias for immigration enforcement could be dangerous.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
The message being sent is that the FCC is deputizing station owners to take on their network partners.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has taken up the anti-immigrant campaign aggressively, deputizing law-enforcement officers to assist ICE in its roundups.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Robin Grammer, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2026
State lawmakers have pushed policies that include deputizing campus police departments to assist federal immigration enforcement, restricting partnerships with institutions tied to countries such as China and Venezuela and increasing scrutiny of foreign students.
—Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
One part of his strategy has involved deputizing some local and state police forces through a decades-old federal program.
—Lexi Salazar, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
Vance also announced that the administration was deputizing a new assistant attorney general to prosecute the abuse of government assistance programs in response to growing attention to fraud in childcare programs in Minnesota.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Lang’s proposals have raised concerns among legal experts, who say deputizing private militias for immigration enforcement could be dangerous.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
The message being sent is that the FCC is deputizing station owners to take on their network partners.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has taken up the anti-immigrant campaign aggressively, deputizing law-enforcement officers to assist ICE in its roundups.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deputizing
Verb
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Since her election in 2022, Meloni has tried to reshape the country’s arts and cultural institutions by appointing a host of new, politically conservative leaders.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
4 May 2026
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That means appointing Police Commission members who will prohibit officers from honoring administrative ICE warrants, close the SB 54 loophole allowing jail staff to tip off ICE about release dates and, if necessary, withdraw LAPD from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, as Portland did.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
4 May 2026
Verb
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The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, which is in charge of delegating federal funds for autism research, is now stacked with individuals who hold this view.—
David Rivera,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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In this role, helicopters would morph from the actual shooter to delegating shooter roles to drones.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deputizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deputizing. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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