ministry
noun
Simple meaning
Government department, at the administrative level normally headed by a minister, who holds it as portfolio.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
minuhstreeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɪnəstɹi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A government department under the direction of a minister of state
Government department, at the administrative level normally headed by a minister (or equivalent rank, e.g. secretary of state), who holds it as portfolio, especially in a constitutional monarchy, but also as a polity
The complete body of government ministers (whether or not they are in cabinet) under the leadership of a head of government (such as a prime minister)
The work of a minister of religion
“He is studying for the ministry.”
The active practice and education of the minister of a particular religion or faith.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A government department under the direction of a minister of state
Used this way, ministry is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in government or politics contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Government/politics
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ministry
- “He is studying for the ministry.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A compulsory annual test of older motor vehicles for safety and exhaust fumes.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.