as in subordinates
one who is of lower rank and typically under the authority of another
the real estate tycoon has a whole army of underlings to attend to the details
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of underlings
That film spawned irrationally confident underlings.
—
Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
What began as a humorous meme page capturing the daily struggle of entertainment underlings evolved into a multi-platform media company and educational ecosystem.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 10 Dec. 2025
Yet whenever Bunny turns away from Frank to take a call from one of his underlings about the day-to-day violence and ugliness of their industry, a somewhat disdainful look passes across Frank’s face.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
Duncan, Kemp, and GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resisted efforts by the president, his underlings, and some GOP state legislators to reverse former President Joe Biden’s Georgia win by appointing an alternate slate of electors.
—Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
Like his Washington, Bargatze’s Farnsworth regaled a trio of underlings (SNL cast members Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, and James Austin Johnson) with ridiculous yet accurate predictions for the future, in this case of TV.
—Judy Berman, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
Although the underlings complained about my methods, the cartel leaders, like Pedro and his boss, El Viejo, a key deputy of Pablo Escobar, were on my side.
—Martin Suarez, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2025
When his underlings spew hate about the Golden State on Fox News and social media?
—Gustavo Arellano, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2025
Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
What began as a humorous meme page capturing the daily struggle of entertainment underlings evolved into a multi-platform media company and educational ecosystem.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 10 Dec. 2025
Yet whenever Bunny turns away from Frank to take a call from one of his underlings about the day-to-day violence and ugliness of their industry, a somewhat disdainful look passes across Frank’s face.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
Duncan, Kemp, and GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resisted efforts by the president, his underlings, and some GOP state legislators to reverse former President Joe Biden’s Georgia win by appointing an alternate slate of electors.
—Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
Like his Washington, Bargatze’s Farnsworth regaled a trio of underlings (SNL cast members Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, and James Austin Johnson) with ridiculous yet accurate predictions for the future, in this case of TV.
—Judy Berman, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
Although the underlings complained about my methods, the cartel leaders, like Pedro and his boss, El Viejo, a key deputy of Pablo Escobar, were on my side.
—Martin Suarez, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2025
When his underlings spew hate about the Golden State on Fox News and social media?
—Gustavo Arellano, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underlings
Noun
-
Quarterbacks who have attained a certain status understandably don’t want to start over as subordinates, be assigned grunt work and wait in line for promotions.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Many politicians should, but won’t, learn worthwhile lessons about the value of public deference and praise of subordinates who work every day on the front lines.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
His latest lesson was giving the finger to a worker at a Michigan auto plant who yelled at him for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, thereby giving license to his minions to do the same in any conflict or disagreement.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
-
In truth, Musk and his DOGE minions mined Social Security data possibly for private purposes, while working to undermine confidence in the program.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Also newly attached to Write to Kill are Simon Newton and Mike Wood, who will play henchmen.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Kyle’s wife, Tracy, suddenly leaves Kingstown for her sister’s home in Ohio this week, urged by Kyle and Mike to get herself and her baby as far away from Merle’s henchmen as possible.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
23 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underlings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underlings. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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