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functionary

[fuhngk-shuh-ner-ee] / ˈfʌŋk ʃəˌnɛr i /


NOUN
bureaucrat
Synonyms




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Entertaining down to the last minute, the Bastille Opera finally opened its season with a sad-faced functionary who stepped in front of the curtain to tell us that the “Simone Boccanegra” baritone was indisposed.

From The Wall Street Journal May 7, 2026

One of my professors, Harry Wexler, had been a young functionary under the midcentury mayor-for-life Dick Lee.

From Slate Sep. 21, 2025

Adolf Ziegler, the Nazi functionary charged with overseeing the exhibition, perceived no ambiguity.

From Salon Jun. 8, 2025

The party, not the government, dictates policy and the foreign minister is essentially a functionary.

From Seattle Times Jul. 26, 2023

Maybe Melvin Butler was progressive for his time and place, or maybe he was just a functionary carrying out his duty.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Both Washington and Mexico City have launched crackdowns against a complex web of unscrupulous functionaries, front companies and document fraudsters, among others.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 3, 2026

Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and other Kremlin functionaries live in highly-secure estates near the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway west of Moscow, a suburban community dubbed “Moscow Beverly Hills.”

From Salon Mar. 24, 2026

He, not his faithful functionaries, needs to take the blame.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 24, 2025

A few questioned whether the Wikimedia Foundation was taking threats seriously enough when they were raised by the site’s volunteer administrators and functionaries.

From Slate Oct. 22, 2025

We are at El Almirante, where— we have decided—the waiters must be retired functionaries from the old Trujillo days.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez




Vocabulary lists containing functionary


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