plenipotentiary

noun

Definition of plenipotentiarynext
as in ambassador
technical a person (such as a diplomat) who has complete power to do business for a government

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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 Walpole’s most frequent correspondent was Horace Mann, the British plenipotentiary in Florence, Italy. — Catherine Ostler, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2022 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 These succeeded to the extent that a meeting was brought about in 1880 between plenipotentiaries of the three belligerents and the American Ministers accredited to those countries on board an American naval vessel in the harbor of Arica. — Edwin M. Borchard, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plenipotentiary
  1. ambassador
  2. diplomat
  3. diplomatist
  4. emissary
  5. legate
  6. envoy
  7. foreign minister
  8. attorney
Noun
  • Since then, Dikha has accrued thousands of followers on Instagram and was named a tourism ambassador for his home province of Riau.
    — Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Fox News Digital has asked the ambassador why the protesters would not participate in any interviews, if the protesters took the photographer's glasses and if the group will offer an apology, but has not received a response.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of ambassador
Noun
  • The return of diplomats to their posts would suggest Washington is not anticipating a return to all-out warfare.
    — Chloe Taylor,Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Isa, who has served as a diplomat at the Japanese Embassy in China, wrote on X earlier this month that bilateral ties have sunk to their worst since the 1972 normalization of relations.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of diplomat
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
Definition of diplomatist
Noun
  • According to the news release, the school is also expanding its participation in the Shinshinim program—two new young emissaries from Israel will join the school for a year before their army service.
    — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Serra’s immersive event, a rapture of colors and shadows, pays fittingly grandiose tribute to an emissary of a legendary cinematic era.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of emissary
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
Definition of legate
Noun
  • Former Vice President Mike Pence and ex-special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg were also in Kyiv for meetings.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026
  • All of that came as a US presidential envoy held a rare meeting with the leader of Hamas to discuss peace, and as Washington trumpeted the prospects for Israel-Lebanon talks next month.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of envoy
Noun
  • The flash flood which has devastated settlements in northern Nepal was caused by an earthquake triggering a large landslide which blocked the Bhote Koshi river, according to Nepal’s foreign minister Shishir Khanal.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The spokesperson said Oman's foreign minister will travel to Tehran to meet with Iranian officials.
    — August 24, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of foreign minister
Noun
  • Nor did the attorney who represented Malosso in his supreme court appeal.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Many low-wage service workers toil in marginal jobs, but so do white-collar professionals such as adjunct university faculty and staff attorneys at law firms.
    — Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of attorney

Browse Nearby Words

plenipotentiaries
plenipotentiary
plenitude
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Cite this Entry

“Plenipotentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plenipotentiary. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on plenipotentiary

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about plenipotentiary

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