agent

noun

ˈā-jənt How to pronounce agent (audio)
Definition of agentnext
1
as in instrumentality
something used to achieve an end the whitening agent in the detergent is chlorine bleach the Church has been the traditional agent for social justice in impoverished countries

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in deputy
a person who acts or does business for another the sports agent negotiated a record-breaking contract for the baseball player

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3
as in ambassador
a person sent on a mission to represent another an undercover agent of the Crown

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4
as in spy
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country an agent feeding information about enemy troop movements

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Example 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 agent This was followed by the creation of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) on July 22 to handle espionage and resistance agents, and the first raids were already being carried out. — David Szondy august 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026 One day later, news surfaced that Meta had quietly abandoned its plan to restructure its workforce around AI agents. — Lutz Finger, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 For years, its players and agents and team officials and fans have argued that its professional athletes are, by their very existence, activists. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 The 30-year-old, 6-foot-2, 235-pound defensive leader will bring some veteran wisdom to a room that, besides free-agent acquisition Devin Lloyd, was in search of some. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for agent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent
  1. instrumentality
  2. deputy
  3. ambassador
  4. spy
  5. means
  6. representative
  7. delegate
  8. operative
Noun
  • Issued by the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, a state instrumentality created under the Wyoming Stable Token Act (2023), FRNT is fully reserved and managed in partnership with Franklin Templeton.
    — Jason Brett, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Holding the weight of cotton’s influence on the world, and thus the instrumentality of Black labor, is painful, yet necessary work.
    — Cierra Black, Essence, 9 July 2025
Definition of instrumentality
Noun
  • Prince was able to free the ATV and accelerated toward the deputy, striking him and knocking him to the ground.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Hubble and Webb both have coronagraphs, but Roman’s experimental instrument is 100 to 1,000 times better than any built before, said Bertrand Mennesson, Roman deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of deputy
Noun
  • Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz are ambassadors for Oura, the USTA’s first official wearable partner.
    — Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The elder Dean was one of college basketball’s great ambassadors, working for Converse from 1959-87 while becoming the SEC’s signature television voice.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of ambassador
Noun
  • Yet the Department of Military Counterintelligence—formally responsible for detecting foreign spies within the armed forces—has also been involved in many cases, reflecting the growing dependence of Russian industries on military contracts.
    — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The Bourne Identity Teens who enjoy action movies and spy capers will be all about the first film in the Bourne movie series, which came out in 2002.
    — Kara Nesvig, Parents, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of spy
Noun
  • The Gulf states have experimented with ship-to-ship transfers and other means of moving crude around Iranian restrictions.
    — Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Living with endometriosis means becoming an expert on highly specialized ingredients and constantly cross-checking product labels.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of means
Noun
  • Hutton said Calumet College regularly sends representatives to the school to monitor it, including its governance system and academic programs.
    — Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Fifty-one contestants — one representative from each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia — vied for the crown.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of representative
Noun
  • This came before Nataraja played delegates the trailer of The Great British Bake Off‘s seventeenth season, which is due to launch in coming weeks.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026
  • But the process falls apart when a company has to scale up, delegate, or is mostly remote.
    — K.H. Koehler, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of delegate
Noun
  • Strategy and comms chief Nick Rathod, a seasoned political operative, served as Deputy Director in the Obama White House and a Special Assistant to the President.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The complaint alleges that Bowie, who converted to Islam five years ago and became radicalized online, spent a month communicating with an ISIS facilitator who was actually an undercover operative working with the FBI.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of operative

Phrases Containing agent

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agendas
agent
agent provocateur
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Cite this Entry

“Agent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on agent

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about agent

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