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
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Examples of functionary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Its functionaries have done their utmost to convince those who still believe in its legitimacy that their faith is unfounded.
—
Noah Rothman, National Review, 20 May 2024
For the next thirty years, the conference was where NATO functionaries could, without too much media glare, fine-tune European and U.S. relations, adjusting the degree of European autonomy as suited the moment.
—Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
The primary protagonist of Patriots is Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky (Michael Stuhlbarg), who played an important role in elevating Putin from no-name functionary of the security services to president-for-life — and lived to regret it.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
These few were flagged with a fluorescent-pink note that read this case file is currently with the tenant advocacy project clinic (located in the hallway), a signal to the court’s many functionaries that the case might not proceed as quickly as the others.
—Mya Frazier, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for functionary 
Noah Rothman, National Review, 20 May 2024
For the next thirty years, the conference was where NATO functionaries could, without too much media glare, fine-tune European and U.S. relations, adjusting the degree of European autonomy as suited the moment.
—Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
The primary protagonist of Patriots is Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky (Michael Stuhlbarg), who played an important role in elevating Putin from no-name functionary of the security services to president-for-life — and lived to regret it.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
These few were flagged with a fluorescent-pink note that read this case file is currently with the tenant advocacy project clinic (located in the hallway), a signal to the court’s many functionaries that the case might not proceed as quickly as the others.
—Mya Frazier, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for functionary
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'functionary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Functionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionary. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024.
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