1
as in official
a person who holds a public office
spoke to high-ranking functionaries at the embassy in the hopes that they could help
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2
as in bureaucrat
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 functionary
Bigelow’s sympathetic eye for her functionaries risks the film being misread as an argument for more robust military funding.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionary
Noun
-
The text of the 14-point agreement was read by a senior administration official in a call with reporters on Wednesday.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
-
Police Chief Stacey Graves said during a Wednesday evening news conference that law enforcement officials consider Sanchez-Munoz to be armed and dangerous.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
There is an unmistakable feeling that a great mass of fans are priced out, or fenced out, while wealthy sponsors and venal bureaucrats get the benefits.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
13 June 2026
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Getting foreign streamers to support local content creators so Canadians could view their own films and TV shows rather than rely on Netflix and Prime Video for popular fare may have seemed a good idea among bureaucrats and regulators in Ottawa.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Upon arrival, officers found an unresponsive 28-year-old man in the street with multiple gunshot wounds to the body.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
-
Later, after a small trash fire was set, mounted officers formed a line to push people out of the street as crowd-control units gathered behind them, with the horses fitted in protective eye gear.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Those raises — which were approved by the board in June 2024, to take effect in the December following the election — matched the salaries for the treasurer and county clerk, which were last changed in 2022.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
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It also was alleged that the judge didn't properly supervise clerks and on one occasion yelled and cursed at staff.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
Noun
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Multiple figures within the sport have alleged, under oath, that members of FIFA accepted bribes in exchange for giving the World Cup to Qatar, a nation that has also been accused of facilitating human rights abuses of the migrant workers who built the country’s stadiums.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
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Minsch added that Switzerland’s reliance on highly qualified foreign workers, especially in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology and healthcare.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
Mueller is among the former and current SpaceX employees who own equity in the company, which is set to go public on Friday in the biggest-ever IPO.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
-
The employee rejected his advances and reported it to supervisors, Golf Digest reported.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Functionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionary. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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