Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
minister (noun)1.
- agent
2.
a) one officiating or assisting the officiant in church worship
b) a clergyman especially of a Protestant communion
3.
a) the superior of one of several religious orders - called also minister-general
b) the assistant to the rector or the bursar of a Jesuit house
4.
a high officer of state entrusted with the management of a division of governmental activities
5.
a) a diplomatic representative (as an ambassador) accredited to the court or seat of government of a foreign state
b) a diplomatic representative ranking below an ambassador
intransitive verb
1.
to function as a minister of religion
2.
to give aid or service - minister to the sick
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
minister (noun)1.
a person sent on a mission to represent another
SYNONIMS:
agent, delegate, emissary, envoy, legate, minister, representativeRELATED WORDS:
ambassadress; attaché, chargé d'affaires, consul, deputy, diplomat, foreign minister, nuncio, procurator, proxy; apostle, evangelist, missionary; deputation, detachment, legation; courier, messenger; mouthpiece, spokesperson2.
a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church
SYNONIMS:
cleric, clerical, clerk, deacon, divine, dominie, ecclesiastic, minister, preacher, priest, reverendRELATED WORDS:
churchman, clergyman, father, Holy Joe [], padre; clergywoman, deaconess, priestess; abbot, archbishop, archpriest, bishop, dean, diocesan, monsignor, pope, prelate, presbyter; abbé, curate, curé, parson, pastor, rector, shepherd, vicar; chaplain, confessor, sky pilot; evangelist, missionary, missioner, missionizer, revivalist; friar, mendicant, monastic, monk, oblate, religious; high priest, high priestessNEAR ANTONYMS:
lay reader, lector3.
a person who acts or does business for another
SYNONIMS:
assignee, attorney, commissary, delegate, deputy, envoy, factor, minister, procurator, proxy, rep, representativeRELATED WORDS:
ambassador, diplomat, diplomatist, emissary, foreign minister, legate, plenipotentiary; alternate, backup, pinch hitter, relief, replacement, stand-in, sub, substitute, surrogate, understudy; informer, operative, spy; broker, distributor, manager; arbiter, arbitrator, comprador ( compradore), conciliator, go-between, intercessor, intermediary, interposer, liaison, mediator, middleman, peacemaker; mouthpiece, point man, point person, prophet, speaker, spokesman, spokespersonto attend to the needs and comforts of
SYNONIMS:
administer (to), care (for), minister (to), motherRELATED WORDS:
cure, heal, remedy; doctor, treat; aid, conserve, preserve, provide (for), support; baby, coddle, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil; cater (to), humor; indulgeNEAR ANTONYMS:
brush (aside off), forget, ignore, neglect, overlook, slight