Definition of provincenext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word province distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of province are duty, function, and office. While all these words mean "the acts or operations expected of a person or thing," province applies to a function, office, or duty that naturally or logically falls to one.

I felt it was not my province to inquire — Anne Brontë

Where would duty be a reasonable alternative to province?

The words duty and province are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, duty applies to a task or responsibility imposed by one's occupation, rank, status, or calling.

it is the judicial duty of the court, to examine the whole case — R. B. Taney

When is function a more appropriate choice than province?

The meanings of function and province largely overlap; however, function implies a definite end or purpose or a particular kind of work.

the function of language is two-fold: to communicate emotion and to give information — Aldous Huxley

When can office be used instead of province?

The synonyms office and province are sometimes interchangeable, but office is typically applied to the function or service associated with a trade or profession or a special relationship to others.

they exercise the offices of the judge, the priest, the counsellor — W. E. Gladstone

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 province OpenAI and Sam Altman owe the tiny remote mining community shattered by the tragedy much more than an apology, the Canadian province argued. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026 Once a logger in the Rizal province, Gianan now uses his intimate knowledge of the terrain as a master navigator of this limestone ecosystem. — Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026 In South Africa’s northernmost province, under a cavernous expanse of jagged gray rock, lies a mineral treasure trove that could play a pivotal role in the country’s relationship with global superpowers. — Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026 It was named after the Emperor Hadrian, who toured the northern provinces of Germany and Britain in 121–122 to consolidate the empire’s frontiers. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 21 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for province
Recent Examples of Synonyms for province
Noun
  • The two missile launches -- about three hours apart -- were conducted from North Korea's eastern coastal Wonsan area.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Democrats want to go back to higher spending and higher costs in all of those areas.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Since joining the program in July 2025, FDLE has announced the arrests of hundreds of immigrants accused of various crimes in days-long operations in which agents collaborated with local police departments and ICE.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Kao was born in Taiwan and has made major donations to engineering departments at University of Kansas and Kansas State.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • In 1986, that was totally out of the realm of our understanding.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Other languages The vast size of the Roman realm meant that many languages besides Latin and Greek were spoken there.
    — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • That combination of domain mastery, systems fluency and outcome ownership is genuinely rare.
    — Ali Alkhafaji, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • GoDaddy — The Internet domain registry jumped roughly 3% after The Financial Times reported that Gen Digital made a takeover offer for GoDaddy.
    — Michelle Fox,Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The team measured 13 rare earth elements, including cerium, ytterbium and lanthanum, and examined whether exposure was associated with birth outcomes.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The film has all these crime-drama elements, and we’re caught up in that tension.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The native people of this region were not wiped out by smallpox and instead established an independent kingdom that blends a traditional monarchy with Catholicism, thanks to the efforts of some earlier missionaries.
    — John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Earlier this month, drone attacks attributed by Saudi Arabia to Iraqi militias damaged the kingdom’s East-West pipeline, a key route for moving crude to the Red Sea and allowing Saudi oil exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The Justice Department, for instance, decimated its elite Public Integrity Section in early 2025 while the FBI disbanded a white-collar fraud and public corruption squad based out of its Washington field office.
    — PATRICK WHITTLE, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
  • This had nothing to do with work on the field, but rather a promotion for how the team is about to honor its past.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Detroit starter Troy Melton (8-5) allowed three runs on four hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings before leaving with a trainer after Antonacci's double.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Eaton, 51, faces up to life in prison for the 2023 attack, which left one victim paralyzed from the waist down and two others wounded during a quiet holiday weekend walk.
    — Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Province.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/province. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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