apparatchik

[ ah-puh-rah-chik; Russian uh-puh-raht-chyik ]

noun

, plural ap·pa·rat·chiks; Russian ap·pa·rat·chi·ki [uh-puh-, raht, -chyi-kyee].

1. a member of an apparat, especially in a Communist country.

apparatchik

/ ˌæpəˈrɑːtʃɪk /

noun

1. a member of a Communist apparat
2. an official or bureaucrat in any organization

Word History and Origins

Origin of apparatchik¹

1940–45; < Russian apparátchik, equivalent to apparát apparat + -chik agent suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of apparatchik¹

C20 from Russian, from apparat apparatus, instrument + -ckik , suffix denoting agent

Example Sentences

“More and more Hezbollah is looking like a purely Iran-aligned apparatchik, as opposed to a locally ingrained Lebanese party,” Daou said.

From Los Angeles Times

Since then, however, he's become one of Trump's biggest fanboys, praising Trump with a fervor that even Stalin's apparatchiks would find excessive.

From Salon

Trump's apparatchiks lost 61 of those, either because they lacked standing to sue or because they had no real evidence to offer.

From Salon

Now, one can quibble over whether a political philosophy that traces itself back to Edmund Burke and the American founding can be transformed by the installment of Trump apparatchiks at the RNC.

From Los Angeles Times

Nor are the money-first apparatchiks of the Olympic movement likely to give up on their bastardized vision of SafeSport without a fight.

From Salon