sinecure

noun

si·​ne·​cure ˈsī-ni-ˌkyu̇r 

ˈsi-

1

: an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income

2

archaic : an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of souls

Did you know?

A sinecure (pronounced \SYE-nih-kyoor\) sounds like a pretty sweet deal: it’s a job or title that usually comes with regular money but with little or no work. Who wouldn’t want that? While the thing sinecure refers to might be desirable, the word itself is typically used with disdain—if someone refers to your job as a sinecure they don’t think you earn the money you collect by doing it. The word’s roots are likewise served with some side-eye: it comes from the Medieval Latin sine cura, meaning “without cure”—the lack of cure in this case being one for souls. The original sinecure was a church position that didn’t involve the spiritual care or instruction of church members (theoretically, the church’s sole purpose). Ecclesiastical sinecures have been a thing of the past since the late 19th century; positions referred to with the word these days are more likely to be board positions or academic appointments that require no teaching.

Examples of sinecure in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The former minister gets a fancy title and robes to help cushion the blow of their political humiliation and a cheap, harmless sinecure as an excuse to hang around the Parliament that defined their lives rather than feeling they were consigned to oblivion. —Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 19 July 2024

That confession is shocking for a film made by Higher Ground, the production company that Barack and Michelle Obama formed as part of the 2018 Netflix deal that gave them a bully-pulpit sinecure. —Armond White, National Review, 10 Apr. 2024

Rather than remove poor performers from their sinecures, the current fixation on age could remove from our political and economic structures men and women who have spent decades learning about the world and offering the wisdom born of long professional experience. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2023

In the past year, for example, Mr. Xi seemingly sent veteran officials into semiretirement with sinecure posts, only to bring them back to front-line politics months later with senior roles at China’s top prosecutorial agency and Taiwan affairs office. —Chun Han Wong, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin sine cura without cure (of souls)

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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