Meanings
secretary of state1
plural secretaries of state
- alternativeAlternative form of Secretary of State.
Secretary of State2
plural Secretaries of State
- Any of several senior government positions whose function varies from nation to nation.
- The chief clerk of a U.S. state.
1 more example
When Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft jumped into the state’s gubernatorial race last year, the Republican vowed to tackle a slew of culture war issues, promising to fight the “woke politics” of “left-wing” banks and touting how he used his position to enact a regulation targeting those financial firms.
2024 March 17, Daniel Medina and Bob Ortega, “Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues”, in CNN
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna government minister for foreign relations
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 國務卿 /国务卿, 國務大臣 /国务大臣
- 國務卿 /国务卿 (guówùqīng)any of several senior government positions
- 國務大臣 /国务大臣 (guówù dàchén)any of several senior government positions
- 州務卿 /州务卿 (zhōuwùqīng)chief clerk of a U.S. state
Dutch minister van Buitenlandse Zaken
- minister van Buitenlandse Zakenany of several senior government positions
Finnish valtiosihteeri, ulkoministeri (US Secr. of St.)
- valtiosihteeriany of several senior government positions
- ulkoministeri (US Secr. of St.)any of several senior government positions
French secrétaire d'État
- secrétaire d'Étatany of several senior government positions
German Staatssekretär, Staatssekretärin
- Staatssekretärany of several senior government positions
- Staatssekretärinany of several senior government positions
Hungarian külügyminiszter, államtitkár
- külügyminiszterany of several senior government positions
- államtitkárany of several senior government positions
- miniszterany of several senior government positions
- államtitkárchief clerk of a U.S. state
Italian segretario di Stato, segretaria di Stato
- segretario di Statoany of several senior government positions
- segretaria di Statoany of several senior government positions
Japanese 国務長官
- 国務長官 (kokumuchōkan)any of several senior government positions
Norwegian Bokmål utenriksminister
- utenriksministerany of several senior government positions
Polish sekretarz stanu, sekretarz stanu
- sekretarz stanuany of several senior government positions
- sekretarz stanuchief clerk of a U.S. state
Russian госуда́рственный секрета́рь, госсекрета́рь
- госуда́рственный секрета́рь (gosudárstvennyj sekretárʹ)any of several senior government positions
- госсекрета́рь (gossekretárʹ)any of several senior government positions
- мини́стр иностра́нных дел (minístr inostránnyx del)any of several senior government positions
Spanish Secretario de Estado, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
- Secretario de Estadoany of several senior government positions
- Ministro de Relaciones Exterioresany of several senior government positions
Swedish utrikesminister
- utrikesministerany of several senior government positions
Vietnamese ngoại trưởng, bộ trưởng ngoại giao
- ngoại trưởngany of several senior government positions
- bộ trưởng ngoại giaoany of several senior government positions
- quốc vụ khanhany of several senior government positions
- bang vụ khanhchief clerk of a U.S. state
- tổng thư ký tiểu bangchief clerk of a U.S. state
- tổng thư ký bangchief clerk of a U.S. state
Cite this entry
secretary of state. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/secretary%20of%20state
“secretary of state.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/secretary%20of%20state. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “secretary of state,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/secretary%20of%20state.
Source: secretary of state on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.