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
Unlike the party functionaries picked previously, all three grew up in the labor movement.
—
John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
The hosts were Peter Yates, a functionary at the California Department of Employment, and his wife, the pianist Frances Mullen.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
The play drew on the verbatim testimony of SS officers, Nazi functionaries and camp survivors, to reconstruct the genocidal horror in harrowing, undeniable detail.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
Geoffrey Mason was barely 30, a control-room functionary working a down day at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when history called on a push-button phone.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for functionary
John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
The hosts were Peter Yates, a functionary at the California Department of Employment, and his wife, the pianist Frances Mullen.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
The play drew on the verbatim testimony of SS officers, Nazi functionaries and camp survivors, to reconstruct the genocidal horror in harrowing, undeniable detail.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
Geoffrey Mason was barely 30, a control-room functionary working a down day at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when history called on a push-button phone.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionary
Noun
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If passed, Lee’s provision would require BLM and Forest Service officials to publish a list of tracts of land nominated or considered for sale every 60 days.—
Rose Evans,
Idaho Statesman,
22 June 2025
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At that point, officials finally revealed almost 15,000 New Yorkers had died from COVID in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, which was 6,000 more than Cuomo had previously admitted.—
Bill Hammond,
New York Daily News,
22 June 2025
Noun
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Here's the truth: pushing subsidies out of the income tax system and into the hands of bureaucrats is an inefficient way to energize economic activity.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
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Musk wielded immense power as head of DOGE, purging the federal government of bureaucrats his team deemed part of a bloated system.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Towels Pop all of your family's bath and hand towels into the wash every Friday, advises Tanu Grewal, who is the chief cleaning officer at Pinalen Cleaner, Cloralen Bleach, and Ensueno Laundry in Houston, Texas.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
20 June 2025
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Writer/director Williams spent four years visiting Australian prisons and interviewing officers and inmates, many of whom are featured.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
20 June 2025
Noun
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On Friday evening, a week after the Tribune reported that ICE subpoenaed the clerk’s office for personal information of applicants to the ID program that is often used by noncitizens, the city clerk took down the online application for CityKey.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2025
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Most were clerks, who divided their duties alphabetically rather than by region—one imagines Canadian affairs being handled by the Bulgaria-Chile desk.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Noun
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With the new minimum in place, a full-time worker in the nation's capital will earn an additional $727 in annual wages, on average, according to the EPI's calculations.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
27 June 2025
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Warren Williams, president of CUPE Local 15, which represents unionized staff, told the Sun that twenty-nine unionized workers would lose their jobs.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
27 June 2025
Noun
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The median of the total annual compensation of all Meta employees other than Zuckerberg was $417,400 last year.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
27 June 2025
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According to Microsoft Outlook's productivity report, employees average 6.6 hours of overtime per week.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Functionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionary. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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