as in minion
disapproving
a very loyal member of an organization (such as a company or political party) who always obeys orders
party apparatchiks
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Recent Examples of apparatchik
Khamenei will decide which hardline apparatchik appears on the ballot to replace him.
—
Karl Vick, TIME, 23 May 2024
There were several oligarchs who helped Putin rise from a K.G.B. apparatchik in Leningrad to autocrat in the Kremlin.
—Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
In the intensely ideological and conformist atmosphere of today’s China, no apparatchik will depart from the safety of the party line without a clear signal from the leader.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
Decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cold War ideology continues to form Western perceptions of the Eastern Bloc as a backward region, uniformly totalitarian, where everybody was either an apparatchik or a dissident.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for apparatchik
Karl Vick, TIME, 23 May 2024
There were several oligarchs who helped Putin rise from a K.G.B. apparatchik in Leningrad to autocrat in the Kremlin.
—Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
In the intensely ideological and conformist atmosphere of today’s China, no apparatchik will depart from the safety of the party line without a clear signal from the leader.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
Decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cold War ideology continues to form Western perceptions of the Eastern Bloc as a backward region, uniformly totalitarian, where everybody was either an apparatchik or a dissident.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for apparatchik
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apparatchik
Noun
-
Besides being massively ignorant, Musk and his minions are drunk on ideology.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
-
Through their minions in the media, in Big Pharma, and woke teachers manipulating their children's minds, these elites hold an iron grip on society.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Under current policy, decisions to separate soldiers outside standard regulatory grounds rest solely with the secretary of the Army — a power typically reserved for exceptional circumstances.—
Eleanor Watson,
CBS News,
30 May 2025
-
Federal prosecutors allege Tian sold sensitive military information to former soldier Ruoyu Duan, who would allegedly receive money from individuals residing in China.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
Its adherents numbered in the tens of thousands in 2018 and surged to millions by 2020.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
17 May 2025
-
She was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, and left Russia with many other adherents of Hasidism on the famous escape trains to Poland.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Orwell’s warnings apply across the board, not just when obvious despots and lackeys let their fascist flags fly.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
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Shawn reluctantly agrees, but is humiliated when Cory starts acting corny around his friend Gambling Dan (Phil Buckman), and his lackey, Louie (Weiss).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Apparatchik.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apparatchik. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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