GDict

functionary

'fʌŋkʃәnәri5 senses · 51 ms
Level C1GRE
local copy0 msLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0Wiktionary contributors
noun/ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃn̩.(ə)ri//ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃəˌnɛ.ri/
  1. 1

    A person employed as an official in a bureaucracy (usually corporate or governmental) who holds limited authority and primarily serves to carry out a simple function for which discretion is minimal or not required.

    • Near-synonyms: bureaucrat; official; officer; administrator; apparatchik
  2. 2

    Such a person who is petty, pedantic, short-sighted, uncaring, or counterproductive; sometimes also with implication of being amoral or corrupt.

    • Near-synonyms: bureaucrat, apparatchik; paper-pusher; bean counter

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