1
as in officials
a person who holds a public office spoke to high-ranking functionaries at the embassy in the hopes that they could help
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in bureaucrats
a worker in a government agency the faceless functionaries at the Internal Revenue Service
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 functionaries More than funding, though, is needed transparency by IDNR functionaries with marina boaters and Winthrop Harbor officials. —
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026 Their prestige suffers because it is conflated in the public’s mind with long lines at the DMV, fastidious building inspectors, parking tickets—the stuff of local functionaries. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026 Proposal 5 was actually a bit of skilled electoral craft on the part of the city’s map functionaries. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2026 Bigelow’s sympathetic eye for her functionaries risks the film being misread as an argument for more robust military funding. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 Evil is aided and abetted by the banality of institutions and their functionaries. —Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025 Since then, there have been many more arrests—especially of regional functionaries at various levels. —Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025 But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him. —Chris Brennan, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026 Their prestige suffers because it is conflated in the public’s mind with long lines at the DMV, fastidious building inspectors, parking tickets—the stuff of local functionaries. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026 Proposal 5 was actually a bit of skilled electoral craft on the part of the city’s map functionaries. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2026 Bigelow’s sympathetic eye for her functionaries risks the film being misread as an argument for more robust military funding. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 Evil is aided and abetted by the banality of institutions and their functionaries. —Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025 Since then, there have been many more arrests—especially of regional functionaries at various levels. —Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025 But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him. —Chris Brennan, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionaries
Noun
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Painted Tree officials attributed rising costs, market conditions and changes in consumer shopping behavior as reasons for the closure.— Gabriela Vidal, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
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Starmer says he was not informed that the Foreign Office had overruled the recommendation of security officials in early 2025 not to give Peter Mandelson the job.— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The fiduciary standards are developed in part by government bureaucrats.— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
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The bureaucrats of the New Deal understood that very well.— Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His projects have been with athletes, politicians, chief executive officers, the director of a botanical garden, a physician, a Nepalese monk, a theoretical physicist.— John McPhee, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
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In a photo shared by police, officers appeared to have recovered stacks of 20-dollar bills, pills in prescription bottles, and a white powdery substance in little baggies.— Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Hackers in late 2023 stole Glendale Unified School District employees’ Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and financial account information and demanded a ransom for the data, according to the Los Angeles Times.— Jason Henry, Daily News, 18 Apr. 2026
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Pickleball players enthused over new courts are likely to be the only residents — outside of municipal employees — who think San Diego is even slightly better run now than in 2011.— U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Alito, 76, has been hiring clerks for next term and intends to continue serving into at least 2027, the sources who have spoken to Alito told ABC.— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
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According to evidence presented at trial, McCray sent multiple letters from a Texas state prison in March 2025 that contained white powder and were addressed to clerks at federal courthouses in Fort Worth and Amarillo.— Sergio Candido, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Romvari films Sasha’s efforts by combining authentic documentary elements—the adult Sasha’s interviews with real-life psychologists and social workers—and scenes featuring dramatic monologues of a rare poetic sublimity.— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
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In states that don’t conform to the federal tax changes, workers who receive a federal tax deduction for tips or overtime still will owe state taxes on those earnings.— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Repeat with the remaining mandarins, adding more cornstarch as needed.— Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026
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Harvest for mandarins can begin as early as November and last through April.— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Functionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/functionaries. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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