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.
The ministerial appointments will be approved by parliament on Thursday before being rubber-stamped by the King.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Rayner quit as deputy PM and housing, communities and local government minister after an investigation found she had breached the ministerial code over the purchase of a flat in southern England.
From Barron's • May 14, 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
And with a daring display of prime ministerial authority along with a big dose of political stubbornness, Sir Keir has kept an awful lot of those options on the table for now at least.
From BBC • May 12, 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.
