Thesaurus results for BUREAUCRATS

bureaucrats

noun

plural of bureaucrat

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bureaucrats Modern-day courtiers and princes–to say nothing of bureaucrats–should not be the ones deciding what gets made and who gets to see it. — Christopher Koopman, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026 These are scientists, academics, and bureaucrats speaking with their own distinct terminology and often talking past one another. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026 But elevating the whims of progressive activists and government bureaucrats above the wisdom of the marketplace has proven a costly mistake and undermined consumer choice. — Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026 These innovations may reduce the number of bureaucrats autocrats need. — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026 At the same time, some critics worried that the Obama-era guidance had gone too far, tasking college bureaucrats with investigating criminal allegations and diluting due process. — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026 The prosecutor was aware that some people viewed career officials who had remained at the Justice Department as comparable to the bureaucrats who had dutifully followed orders in Nazi Germany. — Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 The bureaucrats who failed to prevent the fraud often remain anonymous. — Sreedhar Potarazu, Baltimore Sun, 19 Aug. 2026 America’s goal should be more cures, more treatment options and better care, not fewer innovations dictated by Washington bureaucrats. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bureaucrats

Noun

Social events where fraternities and sororities mix with one another and with unaffiliated members are usually at least registered with university officials.

— Richard Hall, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
An inmate died in an apparent homicide Tuesday morning after an attack by another prisoner at California State Prison, Sacramento, state corrections officials said.

— Michael McGough, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of officials

Noun

Norma Mitchell, cofounder of the business and grandmother of its current top executives, died of the disease, and many other family members, employees and customers have been touched by it.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
Nearly eight in 10 Marriott associates in Europe say they are offered training or development to further themselves professionally, compared with just over half of employees at a typical European workplace.

— Ted Kitterman, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of employees

Noun

Earlier this year, Newsom called for local elections clerks to count ballots faster to head off misinformation ahead of the June 2 primary.

— Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
At the same time, local county clerks and election officials in Illinois have stepped up planning for various scenarios involving federal activity at the polls.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of clerks

Noun

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

— Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
To the extent that their fellow-citizens refer to them at all, our government functionaries are perceived not as active agents of change but as inert, self-protecting obstructions.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 July 2026

Definition of functionaries

Noun

Conrad has done an outstanding job of pulling together a team of local workers at all levels of the business.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
During the boom years of the reform era, from 1978 to the early 2000s, China was a country of productive workers.

— Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of workers

Browse Nearby Words

bureaucratic

bureaucrats

bureaus

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bureaucrats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bureaucrats. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of bureaucrats

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

galore

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes