as in ambassador
technical
a person (such as a diplomat) who has complete power to do business for a government
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of plenipotentiary
All empires have, like the Roman Empire, been… The American System and the World Organization
On the day our plenipotentiaries exchange their full powers, an immortal date will be inscribed in American diplomatic history.
—
Ezequiel Padilla, Foreign Affairs, 10 Sep. 2024
Walpole’s most frequent correspondent was Horace Mann, the British plenipotentiary in Florence, Italy.
—Catherine Ostler, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2022
Then came Bob, the king of Thailand’s valet plenipotentiary.
—Alejandro Varela, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019
Morris was eventually the United States’ plenipotentiary to France and spent years afterward touring Europe and having affairs there.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 4 June 2019
Ezequiel Padilla, Foreign Affairs, 10 Sep. 2024
Walpole’s most frequent correspondent was Horace Mann, the British plenipotentiary in Florence, Italy.
—Catherine Ostler, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2022
Then came Bob, the king of Thailand’s valet plenipotentiary.
—Alejandro Varela, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019
Morris was eventually the United States’ plenipotentiary to France and spent years afterward touring Europe and having affairs there.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 4 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plenipotentiary
Noun
-
The 28-year-old, the first flag football athlete to receive major sponsorships from Under Armour, Gatorade and Oakley, is an NFL global ambassador.—
Eduardo Tansley,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Capitalizing on her close relationships with the directors of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles, the NGV also named Campbell-Pretty as its ambassador to France.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Islamists were seen as complicit in India’s worst plane hijack in 1999 and the 2008 attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, which killed several Indian citizens, including two senior diplomats.—
Happymon Jacob,
Time,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Russia remains the only foreign government that has formally recognized the Taliban and diplomats have said steps toward recognition require a change of course on women’s rights.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The trouble, rather, is that even our top foreign-policy experts and our most sophisticated diplomatists are creatures of our own cultural heritage and intellectual environment.—
Nicholas Eberstadt,
National Review,
11 Sep. 2017
Noun
-
Trump’s administration was right to send an emissary after ICE’s Hyundai raid to express regret and negotiate a new business visa process for South Koreans, despite criticism from the more anti-immigrant MAGA base.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
-
This week, a number of the continent’s trade emissaries and heads of state have pushed for an expeditious extension of the program’s benefits—namely, duty-free access to the United States market for more than 1,800 products from 32 countries.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
However, papal legates—diplomatic representatives—continue their external functions.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
-
In the 1520s Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal legate of England, drove forward a similar program of moral and financial reform, winding up a further 29 monasteries.—
Crawford Gribben,
WSJ,
29 Apr. 2022
Noun
-
Kirill Dmitriev, an investment envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested in posts on Musk's social media platform X that the project would be partly funded by Moscow.—
Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Retired General Nitzan Alon was seen shaking hands with Qatar’s Prime Minister Al-Thani, with special envoy Steve Witkoff in the background.—
Caitlin McFall , Jennifer Griffin , Efrat Lachter , Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
That pushback included the former deputy foreign minister Sher Abbas Stanikzai, who left Afghanistan in February after publicly criticizing the ban on girls studying beyond grade six multiple times.—
NPR,
NPR,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Three days after being excluded from a press conference fronted by Taliban’s foreign minister in India, women journalists took their seats in a powerful show of force to question him about the social exclusion of Afghan women.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
At the time, Robach was still married to actor Andrew Shue and Holmes was still married to attorney Marilee Fiebig.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Scott, an attorney and former aspiring politician, was previously married to Ronna Romney from 1967 to 1992 and Sheri Jelalian from 2011 to 2016.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plenipotentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plenipotentiary. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share