1
as in official
a person who holds a public office
spoke to high-ranking functionaries at the embassy in the hopes that they could help
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2
as in bureaucrat
a worker in a government agency
the faceless functionaries at the Internal Revenue Service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of functionary
Elections boards were put under a GOP functionary who promptly rigged the state board that had confirmed Riggs’ victory.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2025
There is a vast tide of Imperial functionaries, from soldiers to bureaucrats to technicians, all conforming to survive the predations of the Emperor’s whims.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2025
Unlike the party functionaries picked previously, all three grew up in the labor movement.
—John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
The hosts were Peter Yates, a functionary at the California Department of Employment, and his wife, the pianist Frances Mullen.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2025
There is a vast tide of Imperial functionaries, from soldiers to bureaucrats to technicians, all conforming to survive the predations of the Emperor’s whims.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2025
Unlike the party functionaries picked previously, all three grew up in the labor movement.
—John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
The hosts were Peter Yates, a functionary at the California Department of Employment, and his wife, the pianist Frances Mullen.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionary
Noun
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Israel's assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed over 64,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, while internally displacing almost all Gaza's population, and set off a starvation crisis.—
Jarrett Renshaw,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Polish officials said Russian drones pierced their airspace 19 times from late Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Besides Japanese bureaucrats and businessmen, the local Taiwanese elite flocked to photo studios as well.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
13 Sep. 2025
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But what other, more-restrictive standard could Treasury use that doesn’t risk running afoul of the statutory guidance based on a bureaucrat’s subjective judgment?—
Ben Ritz,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images OpenAI has hired Mike Liberatore, former finance chief at Elon Musk's xAI, to be the artificial intelligence startup's business finance officer, responsible for overseeing its massive infrastructure spending.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
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According to police, 26 officers were injured during the demonstration in London and at least 25 arrests were made.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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His teenage son, John Wesley, worked as a clerk who tuned stringed instruments.—
Sarah Biegelsen,
Kansas City Star,
14 Sep. 2025
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The application goes to the city clerk and then gets sent to The Citizen Advisory Committee on the Naming of Streets.—
Sophia Tiedge,
jsonline.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Rural farmers could receive payments, urban workers could send money home and millions joined the formal economy for the first time.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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It’s gotten so bad that, in one of the largest H-2A criminal cases ever, a federal judge described the abuse of these workers as a form of modern-day slavery.—
Max Blau,
ProPublica,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Al Jazeera employees even reportedly work with the terrorist group to identify protesters.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP What To Know The Secret Service has launched an internal review into the screening failure on August 31, and the employee responsible for searching the guest's bag has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of that review, the agency said.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Functionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionary. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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