1
as in officials
a person who holds a public office
spoke to high-ranking functionaries at the embassy in the hopes that they could help
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in bureaucrats
a worker in a government agency
the faceless functionaries at the Internal Revenue Service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of functionaries
Evil is aided and abetted by the banality of institutions and their functionaries.
—
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Since then, there have been many more arrests—especially of regional functionaries at various levels.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Since then, there have been many more arrests—especially of regional functionaries at various levels.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionaries
Noun
-
Some visitors had a chance to see the historic birth unfold as guests had a partial view in the side yard of the okapi habitat next to the okapi barn, officials said, per The Sacramento Bee.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
-
He was hit with a massive $50,000 fine for verbally abusing officials back in 2023, and he was slapped with a $14,000 fine for a violent gesture during a game against the Buffalo Bills last season.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Amid the aftermath, as aid groups and Taliban bureaucrats were assisting those injured and left homeless by the earthquake, other Taliban officials twice suspended most internet and cellular reception throughout Afghanistan, complicating aid efforts.—
NPR,
NPR,
14 Oct. 2025
-
In the first two years of the pandemic, negotiating with bureaucrats in person was impossible, but getting to them virtually wasn’t always easy either — ironically because of the very bandwidth issues that 2Africa was trying to address.—
Samanth Subramanian,
The Dial,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Inside his vehicle, officers found an AR-15 with 27 rounds of ammunition.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
-
In 2019, during the 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Some employees sustained minor injuries.—
NPR,
NPR,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Paramount had more than 18,600 employees at the end of 2024, though there have been additional layoffs earlier this year before the Skydance deal closed.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
When Burnett was a senior at McGavock High School, her boyfriend's father — Metro Council Member Mansfield Douglas III, a close friend of Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler — told her the newsroom was looking for copy clerks.—
Brad Schmitt,
Nashville Tennessean,
20 Oct. 2025
-
These are post offices, clerks of court, libraries, and local government offices.—
Michelle Baran,
AFAR Media,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The airport has put out green donation bins accepting nonperishable food and personal care items for unpaid federal airport workers, according to a social media post from Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
By law, federal workers are supposed to receive back pay once the shutdown ends, but the White House has attempted to cast doubt on that, NPR's Scott Horsley tells Up First.—
NPR,
NPR,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The property has a 1,600-square-foot garage/workshop equipped with power and water for the hobbyist or car collector, and a citrus grove with Satsuma mandarins, oranges, limes and lemons.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Combining this benefit with their low-calorie content makes mandarins a helpful tool for healthy weight management.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Functionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionaries. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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