ministerial
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a minister of religion or his office
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of or relating to a government minister or ministry
a ministerial act
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(often capital) of or supporting the ministry or government against the opposition
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law relating to or possessing delegated executive authority
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law (of an office, duty, etc) requiring the following of instructions, without power to exercise any personal discretion in doing so
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acting as an agent or cause; instrumental
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ministerial
1555–65; < Late Latin ministeriālis, equivalent to Latin ministeri ( um ) ministry + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Ministerial means having to do with a minister of a religion, or a government. If your dad is a pastor, he may have to make it clear if he is telling you not to lie as a father, or in his ministerial capacity. Ministerial derives from the Latin minister meaning "servant." A religious minister is a servant of God. A government minister is the head of a department, but also a servant of the government. Their work is their ministry, thus ministerial means pertaining to that work. If, as England's minister of defense, you streamlined the military, that streamlining would be your ministerial legacy.
Vocabulary lists containing ministerial
The Picture of Dorian Gray
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The Federalist Papers, No. 39 by James Madison
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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
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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.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial to stabilize critical mineral supply, including rare earths, lithium, and copper.
From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026
These issues will be centre-stage at the next WTO Ministerial Conference, taking place in Cameroon from March 26 to 29, as will be the way the WTO makes its decisions.
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
Ministerial colleagues, who were given little notice on Monday of Bayrou's decision to call a vote of confidence on 8 September, praised his move.
From BBC • Aug. 26, 2025
Ministerial functions like car registration and Medicare enrollment and, sure, passport issuance always take the brunt of grousing about the government being so ineffectual.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2025
Though it was often predicted in later years that he was on the point of taking the job, however, he never had Ministerial ambitions.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
