as in subordinate
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of underling
Don't bet on Trump paying the underling's fine, and that $1,000 a day could add up to well over $1,000,000 before Trump leaves office.
—
Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
This is not an image of himself as Kier Eagan, but of Kier in blackface to appease a useful Black underling.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
His Cabinet nominees, Wiles told her underlings, according to two sources familiar with the call, were chosen to deliver on that promise.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 20 Jan. 2025
No one’s clamoring to see a movie about a male exec happily bedding his female underling.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for underling
Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
This is not an image of himself as Kier Eagan, but of Kier in blackface to appease a useful Black underling.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
His Cabinet nominees, Wiles told her underlings, according to two sources familiar with the call, were chosen to deliver on that promise.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 20 Jan. 2025
No one’s clamoring to see a movie about a male exec happily bedding his female underling.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for underling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underling
Noun
-
The dissent among the top ranks of Mr. Trump’s administration was rare for a president whose demands for absolute loyalty have resulted in dramatic executive actions by his subordinates, all acting in lock step to quickly push through Mr. Trump’s agenda.—
Michael D. Shear,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
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Those instances would include fraternization within a unit, anything involving an assault or a relationship between a service member and a subordinate’s civilian spouse.—
Tara Copp,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Raq is a master manipulator who claims to value loyalty above all else, especially from her henchmen brothers Marvin (London Brown) and Lou (Malcolm Mays) and her only son, yet constantly destabilizes the three of them with selfish mind games and power plays that genuinely harm them.—
Robyn Bahr,
The Hollywood Reporter,
7 Mar. 2025
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One whack and the burly guard or crime boss henchman is knocked out for the rest of the caper.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Tatlin scholarship is whispery on his time in Kyiv, for the excellent reason that Stalin’s minions torched most evidence of it.—
Jackson Arn,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
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But the largest driving force behind the return-to-work mandates, suggest the early scholarship, is CEOs feeling lonely without minions.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underling. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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