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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of functionary
Geoffrey Mason was barely 30, a control-room functionary working a down day at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when history called on a push-button phone.
—
Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024
Unlike the party functionaries picked previously, all three grew up in the labor movement.
—John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
As the German journalist Ronen Steinke argues in his own first-rate biography, Bauer’s greatest achievement was a sprawling trial of some 20 German officers and functionaries at Auschwitz, held in a Frankfurt courtroom in the mid-60s.
—Gary J. Bass, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
The play drew on the verbatim testimony of SS officers, Nazi functionaries and camp survivors, to reconstruct the genocidal horror in harrowing, undeniable detail.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024
Unlike the party functionaries picked previously, all three grew up in the labor movement.
—John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
As the German journalist Ronen Steinke argues in his own first-rate biography, Bauer’s greatest achievement was a sprawling trial of some 20 German officers and functionaries at Auschwitz, held in a Frankfurt courtroom in the mid-60s.
—Gary J. Bass, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
The play drew on the verbatim testimony of SS officers, Nazi functionaries and camp survivors, to reconstruct the genocidal horror in harrowing, undeniable detail.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for functionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functionary
Noun
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Among the buildings hit in the Black Sea coastal city were a maternity hospital and an emergency medical center, officials said.—
Jason Volack,
ABC News,
10 June 2025
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The suit claims that (airport) officials implemented ad hoc restrictions without public notice or justification, including an undocumented policy that selectively limited the number of Boeing 757-200 aircraft permitted on the ground per day.—
Doug Gollan,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Noun
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Moreover, tensions are emerging among Russian elites as a result of Putin’s efforts to push aside existing business leaders, bureaucrats, and others in favor of loyalists who adhere to the regime’s ideology or at least pay lip service to it, such as war veterans.—
ANDREI YAKOVLEV,
Foreign Affairs,
16 May 2025
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The Empire is full of bickering bureaucrats, which is fun to watch though bad for getting the Death Star done in a timely manner, and Darth Vader power walks into scenes that both undermine his icon status yet also cement it.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 May 2025
Noun
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Immigration officers in March raided a metal business in unincorporated El Cajon that contracts with the federal government.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2025
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Hundreds of law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level spent nearly two weeks searching for Hardin, using dogs, drones and aircraft, at times hampered by severe weather.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
8 June 2025
Noun
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Months later, police arrested Hoffman, a store clerk, and he was found guilty of beating the young father-to-be with a claw hammer and shooting him.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
7 June 2025
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The clerk opened the register and stuffed his bag with cash before the man fled on foot.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
4 June 2025
Noun
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State government has made the education and training of skilled aerospace workers an important priority.—
Yogi Tharanibalan,
Hartford Courant,
3 June 2025
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Vanguard chose the university area and the region because of its access to talented workers and colleges, Manry said.—
Chase Jordan,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2025
Noun
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The Winter Park Playhouse employee marched against Trump when he was first elected in 2016.—
Kairi Lowery,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2025
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Other employees saw some men looking into the complex from different sides and taking pictures.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Functionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functionary. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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