Synonym Chooser

How is the word province distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of province are duty, function, and office. While all these words mean "the acts or operations expected of a person or thing," province applies to a function, office, or duty that naturally or logically falls to one.

I felt it was not my province to inquire — Anne Brontë

Where would duty be a reasonable alternative to province?

The words duty and province are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, duty applies to a task or responsibility imposed by one's occupation, rank, status, or calling.

it is the judicial duty of the court, to examine the whole case — R. B. Taney

When is function a more appropriate choice than province?

The meanings of function and province largely overlap; however, function implies a definite end or purpose or a particular kind of work.

the function of language is two-fold: to communicate emotion and to give information — Aldous Huxley

When can office be used instead of province?

The synonyms office and province are sometimes interchangeable, but office is typically applied to the function or service associated with a trade or profession or a special relationship to others.

they exercise the offices of the judge, the priest, the counsellor — W. E. Gladstone

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of province The airport, along the country's west coast in South Jeolla province, is about a three-hour drive west of the major port city of Busan. Kelly Kasulis Cho, arkansasonline.com, 30 Dec. 2024 China’s Famine And The Rise Of Opium Production While Tambora’s effects disrupted Europe, its most enduring impact may have unfolded in China’s Yunnan province. Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024 Starting out In July 1976, Van Nistelrooy was born in Oss, a small city in the southern province of Noord Brabant in the Netherlands, the eldest of three children. Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024 Fan reportedly drove his car into a crowd of people exercising outside a stadium in Zhuhai, a coastal city in southern China's Guangdong province, on Nov. 11. Ben Brachfeld, People.com, 27 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for province 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for province
Noun
  • The centers have become refuges for many whose lives have been upended by the unprecedented fires that continue to ravage the Los Angeles area.
    Angela Yang, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Times staff across the metropolitan area — from Long Beach to Echo Park and beyond — received the alert, which did not appear to discriminate by distance from any particular fire.
    Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously yesterday to join an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform its police department.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 7 Jan. 2025
  • The same may go for the finance department or another division.
    Ken Carnesi, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • At the very least, the technology shows a rudimentary robot dance partner is within the realm of possibility.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Then, there was a report that his agent, Scott Boras, was seeking a deal in the $200 million realm, comparable to the contract the Detroit Tigers gave Prince Fielder in 2012.
    Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • This approach can help shed technical debt and create asset management simplicity, from security domains down to security controls.
    Kevin Lynch, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
  • In September, OpenAI's o1 model became the first AI system to surpass the scores of human domain experts.
    Garrison Lovely, TIME, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Even before 2020, which saw more than 100 Republican members of the House and Senate object to the results in response to Trump's false claims, objections had started to become more common as the electoral processes in 2000, 2004 and 2016 all involved some element of controversy.
    Miles Parks, NPR, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Still, the evidence of Chinese abuses is substantial, and the reasons for ignoring it run deep into ideologies about the injustices of a postcolonial world, at least among some elements of the political left.
    Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • The Biden administration has especially pushed for this arrangement as part of broader deal with Riyadh that would also involve greater U.S. security guarantees for the kingdom and closer cooperation in various fields, including nuclear energy.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 12 Jan. 2025
  • For history buffs or curious travelers alike, this makes Brixworth a unique window into a time when the country was still divided into Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
    David Nikel, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Set during the Central African Republic’s civil war in 2013, the film centers on a desperate Muslim man seeking refuge in a field hospital on Christmas Eve, while a threatening Christian militia gathers outside, demanding his life.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Just like the show's main character, Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto), Sacks was motivated to pursue a career in this field because a close family member struggled with a mental illness, and it was treated as a big secret.
    Madeleine Janz, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • But residents will be able to connect outside much more easily — either right outside their homes or a short walk from their front doors.
    Ryan Gillespie, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Check in here: Just a four-minute walk from the finish line, Raffles Boston is a post-race sanctuary.
    Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near province

Cite this Entry

“Province.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/province. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on province

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