as in subordinate
one who is of lower rank and typically under the authority of another
the real estate tycoon has a whole army of underlings to attend to the details
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of underling
While Hajime remains emotionally obtuse and absorbed in his architecture and a budding new romance with an underling, Ren tentatively seeks a reconciliation, and Emi openly resists any reunion.
—
Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
Usually the one doing the trolling, Dave Portnoy – infamous for making inappropriate jokes, thrashing underlings and having absolutely zero filter – is currently catching some major shade.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 10 June 2025
Agents intercepted text messages in which Facey and Sanchez talked about using a private plane to spirit away an underling who had narrowly avoided arrest in Anchorage, prosecutors wrote in the bail motion.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
Also, Jimmy discovers while covering for Kayla on the set of her Lassie remake that Kayla is still terrorizing her underlings; very curious to see if/when that’s going to blow up in everyone’s faces.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for underling
Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
Usually the one doing the trolling, Dave Portnoy – infamous for making inappropriate jokes, thrashing underlings and having absolutely zero filter – is currently catching some major shade.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 10 June 2025
Agents intercepted text messages in which Facey and Sanchez talked about using a private plane to spirit away an underling who had narrowly avoided arrest in Anchorage, prosecutors wrote in the bail motion.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
Also, Jimmy discovers while covering for Kayla on the set of her Lassie remake that Kayla is still terrorizing her underlings; very curious to see if/when that’s going to blow up in everyone’s faces.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for underling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underling
Noun
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The disclosure appears to rule out problems with the company’s accounting, mishandling of day-to-day business or questionable conduct with a subordinate.—
Alexander Coolidge,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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That claim by President Trump and his subordinates seems at once overblown and beside the point.—
Andrew C. McCarthy,
National Review,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Malaparte, by then, was making his name as one of Mussolini’s highbrow henchmen.—
Thomas Meaney,
New Yorker,
2 July 2025
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The mosasaur has henchman spinosaurs – a nice touch – while a titanosaurus couple shares a loving moment (which gets interrupted by some pesky humans).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Yanking the rug out from under thousands of foreigners who often risked life and limb to find a safe haven in America is an unconscionable act of heartless, anti-humanitarian gall on the part of Donald Trump and his minions.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
9 June 2025
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Her niftiest fight sequence looks like abstract art: a stark black-and-white aerial pan of her shadow battling minions down a hallway.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underling. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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