functionary
func·tion·ary/ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃəˌnɛ.ri/noun
functionary is spelled F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y: 11 letters and 3 syllables (func·tion·ary). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 63,645th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, functionary means “A person employed as an official in a bureaucracy (usually corporate or governmental) who holds limited authority and primarily serves to carry out a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of functionary is functionaries.
How many letters and syllables are in functionary?
| Letters | 11: F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: func·tion·ary |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 63,645th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is functionary?
Functionary appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 63,645th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce functionary?
- UK /ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃn̩.(ə)ri/
- US /ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃəˌnɛ.ri/
Functionary has 3 syllables, split func·tion·ary in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-functionary.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of functionary
- functionaries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does functionary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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
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
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Functionary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a person employed as an official in a bureaucracy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fonctionnaire |
| German | Funktionär, Funktionärin |
| Portuguese | funcionário, funcionária |
| Spanish | funcionario, funcionaria |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does functionary come from?
From French fonctionnaire; by surface analysis, function + -ary.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).