secretary-general
Americannoun
-
secretaries-general
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of secretary-general
First recorded in 1695–1705
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.
See Examples For:
No deadlines govern the U.N. membership’s choice of a secretary-general, but the process is running later than in past cycles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Nusseibeh would be the first secretary-general from a Gulf nation, and its first Muslim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Numerous U.N. member states have demanded a woman lead the institution for the first time when António Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, steps down at year-end after his decade as secretary-general.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
The outgoing secretary-general, Antonio Guterres of Portugal, ends his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Ever since Walter had become secretary-general of the ANC, I had felt that every effort should be made to ball him out of prison.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Previous secretaries-general have brought threats that they saw to international peace and security to the Security Council without mentioning Article 99.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
We don’t know why they didn’t invoke Article 99, and several of the previous secretaries-general are now dead.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
"The secretaries-general who've failed to get full second terms have antagonized one of the permanent five Security Council members," he said.
From Reuters ● Jun. 19, 2011
At Caramanlis' urging, the Cabinet fired all the military-appointed provincial prefects and all secretaries-general of the government ministries.
From Time Magazine Archive
The chief of all the personnel of prefects, under-prefects, and secretaries-general represented there, lolling on these velvet divans in this vulgar greenroom.
From His Excellency the Minister by Henri Roberts
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