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.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu chaired a ministerial meeting on Thursday afternoon to develop a readiness plan for extreme heat events, including combatting forest fires and ensuring adequate water supplies over the summer.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
"The outbreak is spreading rapidly," Tedros told a virtual ministerial meeting on the viral haemorrhagic fever, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Streeting drafted his resignation letter in his wood-panelled ministerial office in the Palace of Westminster.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
At the time, the prime minister's ethics adviser said Rayner "acted with integrity" but had breached the ministerial code.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
My grandparents, Rev. Dr. James Thomas and Winell Thomas, met when he was an eighteen-year-old ministerial student in a small Jamaican parish and she and her parents were newly arrived parishioners from Cuba.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
