as in ambassador
technical
a person (such as a diplomat) who has complete power to do business for a government
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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
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For instance, a new version of its iconic Nulu fabric — Warm Nulu — hit store shelves this November, striking a chord with the brand’s local ambassadors.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
9 Nov. 2025
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The ambassador stabbed Berry during the struggle, the Sheriff’s Office said.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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This was the case last month at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which regulates pollution from the international shipping fleet, where US diplomats acted in concert with major oil-producing nations to scuttle what would have been the world’s first carbon tax.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
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The move, widely seen as an abandonment of long-standing arms control traditions, has alarmed diplomats and security analysts worldwide.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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Leanne Morgan speaks to her audience as an emissary from another world.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
4 Nov. 2025
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Volar, a dating app that launched in late 2023, even let people train an AI version of themselves that flirted with someone else’s AI as a pre‑date screening, like two emissaries handling the small talk before the generals sit down.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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However, papal legates—diplomatic representatives—continue their external functions.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
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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
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But Nigeria does not currently have an ambassador or high profile special envoy to have helped get ahead of this.—
Semafor Events,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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Lutfey Siddiqi, the special envoy for international affairs in Bangladesh’s interim government, also said at the Fortune Global Forum that his country’s young demographic is key to economic progress, making an oil analogy to explain how Bangladesh should leverage that advantage.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In recent years, Orbán was awarded the Russian Order of Glory and Honor from the Patriarch of Moscow and Orbán’s foreign minister received the Order of Friendship from Putin’s foreign minister.—
Kim Lane Scheppele,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
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Kim Yong Nam joined the ruling Workers’ Party shortly after the Korean War, survived several political purges in the 1970s, entered the Politburo in 1978, and served as North Korea’s foreign minister from 1983 to 1998.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Jeffrey Kuhlman, an attorney representing the county, did not return a phone call Tuesday afternoon.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
12 Nov. 2025
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While pursuing her eventual goal of becoming a practicing attorney, Kardashian has also become an advocate for criminal justice reform.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plenipotentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plenipotentiary. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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