instrumentality
Americannoun
-
the quality or state of being instrumental.
-
the fact or function of serving some purpose.
-
a means or agency.
Etymology
Origin of instrumentality
First recorded in 1645–55; instrumental + -ity
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.
This issue is more complicated than most, in large measure because the industry directly affected is already accustomed to being an instrumentality of the federal government.
From Washington Times • May 14, 2023
“They are a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the filing said, adding the discovery order was “an extraordinary infringement on the sovereignty of a foreign state.”
From Seattle Times • Mar. 2, 2023
“It doesn’t stand to reason that the legislature would have crafted a record-retention policy and exempted the one instrumentality of the state that the public has the most interest in knowing about.”
From Washington Post • Feb. 11, 2022
Terror will always find a weapon because it is an idea and not an instrumentality.
From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2015
It is only the freeholders who are tenants in ancient demesne, and their land passes by common law conveyances without the instrumentality of the lord.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul
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.
