appointed
Americanadjective
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by, through, or as a result of an appointment (often in contrast withelected ).
an appointed official.
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predetermined; arranged; set.
They met at the appointed time in the appointed place.
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provided with what is necessary; equipped; furnished.
a beautifully appointed office.
Synonym Usage
See furnish.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of appointed
Explanation
To be appointed is to be given a task or job. If you're appointed as the week's doughnut fetcher at work, it means you've been assigned the job of bringing treats for everyone. You might be appointed for a small duty or for a large promotion, as when the gym teacher at school is unexpectedly appointed principal. Another way to use the adjective appointed is to mean "well furnished." Lovely homes and fancy hotels are often described as "well appointed" or "luxuriously appointed.
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.
Boeing, meanwhile, extended its mandatory retirement age when it appointed then 64-year-old Kelly Ortberg as CEO in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Roberto Mancini has been appointed Italy manager for a second time - just a day after Andrea Pirlo ruled himself out of the running for the job and technical director Paolo Maldini resigned.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed one of his senior advisers, Robert Howden, to replace her.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
To me, it captures how people protect one another when the law and its appointed enforcers cannot be trusted.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The drums of war had not yet silenced the laughter of the harvesters, but Aziz felt the first pinch of heartache when her father didn’t return on the appointed day.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
