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 Monday’s vote was the first plebiscite of its kind in Canada since the 1995 Quebec referendum, where the predominantly French-speaking province voted against secession by a razor thin margin. — Max Saltman, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Sistan and Baluchistan is the second largest of the 31 Iranian provinces. — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026 The ministry said both patients were men in their 20s living in the Wapinda health zone, which borders Bas-Uele province, where Ebola cases have been reported previously. — Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026 The province contributes to Canada's equalization system, which provides federal funding to provinces with lower fiscal capacity. — Sheena Rossiter, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for province
Recent Examples of Synonyms for province
Noun
  • In all these areas, the traditional aid system is falling short.
    — David Miliband, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The area, 2 miles south of the White House, has been at the center of a heated legal battle for months.
    — Andrew Limbong, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • In January 2025, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch changed the department pursuit policy, barring cops from chasing after vehicles fleeing car stops unless a felony crime or a violent misdemeanor was committed.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The high amount of overtime at the mental health department is related mainly to nurses working at the state’s mental health hospitals, Whiting and Connecticut Valley Hospital, which are both in Middletown.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Fielder started in the realm of absurdist comedy, and with the Holmes project moves into a world of watercooler high crimes and compelling fourth-wall breaking.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Oct. 2026
  • These bog bodies tell stories of a time when humans were sacrificed to the gods in bogs, as otherworldly margins between the human and divine realms, or when social outcasts met a cruel, violent end for failing to conform to societal standards.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Modernizing the backbone of missile warning According to Raytheon’s announcement, the upgrades are intended to strengthen space domain awareness and support a more resilient, layered security architecture.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The contest of networks will be nearly global, waged in multiple domains, with huge stakes riding on the outcome.
    — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • In Blue Level and Desert Moon (both 1955), with their solid areas of blues and reds, respectively, Krasner constructed a vertical world that stood straight and sturdy, raw elements reaching beyond the painting’s top and bottom edges.
    — John Yau, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The situation is similar to plumbing fixtures located within a unit, which are a unit owner’s responsibility even though the building’s common element plumbing system brings water to all units.
    — Howard Dakoff, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • At least 19 people have been killed, school classes have been canceled, and the disruption threatens the kingdom's ambitious plans to transform itself into a global hub for business, tourism and sports.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The framing of the war has also shifted, from a US conflict to the kingdom’s.
    — Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Forget the impish house DJ that ran with Stockholm’s left-field Studio Barnhus label.
    — Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The last includes those black-swan events that come out of left field and test a company’s resilience, from war to pandemics.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Ceiling tile missing above walk in cooler in back receiving area.
    — NWA Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • He was used Saturday to pitch two-thirds of an inning and allowed just one walk in a scoreless appearance.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Province.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/province. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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