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
Relevance
2
as in bureaucrats
a worker in a government agency
the faceless functionaries at the Internal Revenue Service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionaries
Noun
-
Senior White House officials now say the proposal stems from the president’s March executive order, Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful, which created seven interagency working groups on issues from policing to homelessness.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Aug. 2025 -
Top National Park Service officials have declined to answer questions about the fire, the fire-management plan or firefighter staffing.—
Stephanie Murray,
AZCentral.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The first is that government bureaucrats are typically terrible at running businesses.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Other countries that have experimented with manipulating their economic data, or that have incentivized bureaucrats to do so, have faced difficulties.—
Fergus McIntosh,
New Yorker,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This fall, Cassellius said there are 25 officers in the district's high schools.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Other bills require schools to inform parents that their children are entitled to free public education regardless of immigration status and that the schools must notify them when immigration officers are on site.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Vafeades was among 20 employees with more than 15 years of service who were laid off, according to demographic breakdowns provided by the mayor’s office.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
1 Sep. 2025
-
In 2023 and 2024 alone, companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon laid off tens of thousands of employees, consolidating roles, shrinking teams, and widening managerial spans.—
Kathryn Landis,
Harvard Business Review,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The process was so dangerous that grocery store clerks would open cans for customers to take home.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
28 Aug. 2025
-
When nurses, grocery clerks, or teachers can’t afford to live nearby, the whole community feels the impact.—
Jaime Catmull,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Johnson exhorted at a Labor Day workers rally.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
-
In 2025, workers will claim it when filing taxes in early 2026.—
Diana Leyva,
The Tennessean,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Combining this benefit with their low-calorie content makes mandarins a helpful tool for healthy weight management.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
-
Even the tonic is homemade with mandarins and blood oranges, so stopping in for a refreshing drink is well worth it.—
Rebecca Deurlein,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Functionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionaries. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share