sinecure

S1I1N1E1C3U1R1E1
UK/ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/UK/ˈsɪn.ɪˌkjʊə/Canada, US/ˈsaɪ.nəˌkjʊɹ/Canada, US/ˈsɪn.əˌkjʊɹ/

noun

A position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.

Similar
bankers' hourscushy number
OriginEcclesiastical Latin sine cūrā ← Medieval Latin sine →
RareScrabble 10
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Meanings

nounsinecure (plural sinecures)

plural sinecures

  1. A position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.

    A lucrative sinecure in the Excise was bestowed on Ferguson.

    1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume III, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 35
    5 more examples

    Miss Briggs was not formally dismissed, but her place as companion was a sinecure and a derision […]

    1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 14, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

    His prospects consisted of a hope that if he kept up appearances somebody would do something for him. The something appeared vaguely to his imagination as a private secretaryship or a sinecure of some sort.

    1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion. Sequel: What Happened Afterwards.”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, page 196

    With extra traffic, numerous boat trains to and from Southampton Docks, and working of empty stock, his job, like that of most signalmen, is no sinecure.

    1954 September, 'South Western', “Shawford Junction Signalbox”, in Railway Magazine, page 604

    In the ADF, while the numbers vary between the individual services and the reserves, employment is no comfortable sinecure for any personnel and thus does not appeal to many people, male or female, especially under current pay scales.

    2009, Michael O'Connor, Quadrant, November 2009, No. 461 (Volume LIII, Number 11), Quadrant Magazine Limited, page 25

    However, by the time of World War II (if not before), politics, at least in the federal sphere, was no longer regarded as sinecure for well-intentioned part-timers.

    2010, Mungo MacCallum, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 28

    Synonyms: bankers' hours, cushy number

  2. historicalAn ecclesiastical benefice without the care of souls.
adjectivesinecure (not comparable)
  1. not comparableRequiring no work for an ample reward.

    By the act of union (1800), the offices of Irish secretary, a sinecure post, and lord lieutenant's secretary were combined.

    2006, Desmond Keenan, Post-Famine Ireland: Social Structure: Ireland as It Really Was, page 184
  2. not comparableHaving the appearance of functionality without being of any actual use or purpose.

    The old man hastily pulled down his spectacles from their sinecure office on his forehead, and looked at her with an expression of most angry amazement.

    1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 157
verbsinecure (third-person singular simple present sinecures, present participle sinecuring, simple past and past participle sinecured)

present singular third person sinecures · participle present sinecuring · participle past sinecured · past sinecured

  1. transitiveTo put or place in a sinecure.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.

Similar
bankers' hourscushy number
Also see
bankers' hoursgravy trainsinecureship

Origin

  1. Medieval Latinsine“without”
  2. Ecclesiastical Latinsine cūrā
  3. Englishsinecure

From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).

More words from Ecclesiastical Latin, Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian синекурна длъжност
  • синекурна длъжност (sinekurna dlăžnost)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Catalan canongia, prebenda
  • canongiaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • prebendaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Chinese Mandarin 乾俸 /干俸, 閒職 /闲职
  • 乾俸 /干俸 (gānfèng)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • 閒職 /闲职 (xiánzhí)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Czech trafika
  • trafikaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Danish ben, loppetjans
  • bena position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • loppetjansa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • sinecurea position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Dutch sinecure
  • sinecurea position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Esperanto sinekuro
  • sinekuroa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Estonian sinekuur
  • sinekuura position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Finnish laiskanvirka, suojatyöpaikka
  • laiskanvirkaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • suojatyöpaikkaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
French sinécure, planque
  • sinécurea position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • planquea position that requires no work but still gives a payment
German Sinekure, Versorgungsposten
  • Sinekurea position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • Versorgungspostena position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Greek αργομισθία
  • αργομισθία (argomisthía)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Italian sinecura
  • sinecuraa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Japanese 閑職
  • 閑職 (kanshoku)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Norwegian Bokmål sinekyre
  • sinekyrea position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Polish synekura
  • synekuraa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Portuguese sinecura
  • sinecuraa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Romanian sinecură
  • sinecurăa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Russian синеку́ра, тёпленькое месте́чко
  • синеку́ра (sinekúra)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • тёпленькое месте́чко (tjóplenʹkoje mestéčko)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • корму́шка (kormúška)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Spanish sinecura, canonjía
  • sinecuraa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • canonjíaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • enchufe (cronyistic)a position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • prebendaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
  • brevaa position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Swedish sinekur
  • sinekura position that requires no work but still gives a payment
Welsh segurswydd
  • segurswydda position that requires no work but still gives a payment

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

insecure
Cite this entry
APA

sinecure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinecure

MLA

“sinecure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinecure. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sinecure,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinecure.

Source: sinecure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.