as in officials
a worker in a government agency
the bureaucrats at the town hall seem to think that we need a building permit to build a tree house
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Recent Examples of bureaucrats
In the Philippines, government offices are now open just four days a week and bureaucrats must limit the use of air conditioning to nothing cooler than 75°F (24°C).
—
Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026
The barrier was a system so centralized, bureaucrats and procedural that even a straightforward literacy effort became tangled in red tape.
—Daniel L Gordon, Daily News, 29 Mar. 2026
In the Philippines, government offices are now open just four days a week and bureaucrats must limit the use of air conditioning to nothing cooler than 75°F (24°C).
—ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026
Rheinmetall was an obvious place for bureaucrats to direct the Zeitenwende funds.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Yet if the denial of a driver’s license is based on such arbitrary factors as a victim’s advocacy, or a defendant’s remorse, or public opinion, or the whims of state bureaucrats, the results are inconsistent.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
For all their bombast, the ICE and Border Patrol agents seemed to work no harder than any other faceless federal bureaucrats.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
There are few things that California politicians and bureaucrats will not tax, subsidize, mandate, regulate and politicize, particularly if such a thing can be connected to environmental policy.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
The state of Connecticut should not force parents to jump through hoops held by state bureaucrats.
—Nicholas Tampio, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026
The barrier was a system so centralized, bureaucrats and procedural that even a straightforward literacy effort became tangled in red tape.
—Daniel L Gordon, Daily News, 29 Mar. 2026
In the Philippines, government offices are now open just four days a week and bureaucrats must limit the use of air conditioning to nothing cooler than 75°F (24°C).
—ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026
Rheinmetall was an obvious place for bureaucrats to direct the Zeitenwende funds.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Yet if the denial of a driver’s license is based on such arbitrary factors as a victim’s advocacy, or a defendant’s remorse, or public opinion, or the whims of state bureaucrats, the results are inconsistent.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
For all their bombast, the ICE and Border Patrol agents seemed to work no harder than any other faceless federal bureaucrats.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
There are few things that California politicians and bureaucrats will not tax, subsidize, mandate, regulate and politicize, particularly if such a thing can be connected to environmental policy.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
The state of Connecticut should not force parents to jump through hoops held by state bureaucrats.
—Nicholas Tampio, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bureaucrats
Noun
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The victim suffered serious injuries to her right ear, right cheek and face, including a laceration that was about 6 inches long, officials said.—
Katie Houlis,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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The best way to protect yourself during an earthquake is to drop, cover and hold on, officials say.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The possible walkout could involve tens of thousands of employees and affect more than 500,000 students across the nation’s second-largest school district.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
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As word spread around city hall that morning that Metayer hadn’t shown up, city employees told Police Chief Mock that they were concerned about the vice mayor’s whereabouts.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Black said his research found older judges rely more on their clerks - and might need more support from colleagues.—
Carrie Johnson,
NPR,
29 Mar. 2026
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Of those, 65 passed, but clerks at six places sold the tobacco, and they were cited.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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More than funding, though, is needed transparency by IDNR functionaries with marina boaters and Winthrop Harbor officials.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
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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
Noun
-
The union and workers agreed to return to work after the company agreed to return for two days of face-to-face contract negotiations beginning April 9.—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
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Seven months later, just eleven kilometres from the coral garden, a blowout on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig caused an explosion that killed eleven workers and sent oil gushing up from the seafloor.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bureaucrats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bureaucrats. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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