sinecure

[sahy-ni-kyoo r, sin-i-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sinecure ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an office or position requiring little or no work, especially one yielding profitable returns.

an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of souls.

RELATED WORDS

pushover, toast, vulnerable, lamb

Nearby words

Origin of sinecure

1655–65; < Medieval Latin (beneficium) sine cūrā (benefice) without care; see cure

Related formssi·ne·cure·ship, nounsi·ne·cur·ism, nounsi·ne·cur·ist, noun

Can be confusedcynosure sinecure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sinecure

The job is often a sinecure offered to widely admired figures.
Give Him His Well-Deserved Break|Reihan Salam|July 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Sinecure it was, though ennui ruled; but he had his memories, and Rome was not far away.
Egoists|James Huneker
Farmer Cole had agreed to lend Joe for the important day, and it looked as if the hired man would not find his post a sinecure.
Peggy Raymond's Vacation|Harriet L. (Harriet Lummis) Smith
A sinecure as 'clerk of the Foreign Estreats,' gave him 329l.
Advice to Young Men|William Cobbett

One might think that at last his scientific career was opened for him, but his new post was no sinecure.
Makers of Electricity|Brother Potamian
The man who holds a sinecure, or enjoys a privilege, uses it for his own private interest.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen

British Dictionary definitions for sinecure

sinecure

noun

a paid office or post involving minimal duties

a Church benefice to which no spiritual or pastoral charge is attached

Derived Formssinecurism, nounsinecurist, noun

Word Origin for sinecure

C17: from Medieval Latin phrase (beneficium) sine cūrā (benefice) without cure (of souls), from Latin sine without + cūra cure, care

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sinecure

sinecure

1660s, "church benefice with an emolument but without parish duties," from Medieval Latin beneficium sine cura "benefice without care" (of souls), from Latin sine "without" (see sans) + cura, ablative singular of cura "care" (see cure (n.1)).