as in means
something used to achieve an end
computer literacy is only an instrumentality for acquiring an education, and not an end in itself
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of instrumentality
But the instrumentality of so many of his characters seems to have reached a nadir in The City and Its Uncertain Walls.
—
Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
Moore said Tuesday, after the meeting, that the city controlling the budget would not be a legal conflict of interest, as the PAB is an instrumentality of Baltimore City.
—Darcy Costello, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2024
To effect these seizures, the FBI will simultaneously issue commands that will interfere with the hackers’ control over the instrumentalities of their crimes (the Target Devices), including by preventing the hackers from easily re-infecting the Target Devices with KV Botnet malware.
a.
—Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2024
The common thread here is a blatant, self-serving instrumentality incapable of distinguishing between the desire for order and the desire for domination, between the good of all and one’s own good.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for instrumentality
Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
Moore said Tuesday, after the meeting, that the city controlling the budget would not be a legal conflict of interest, as the PAB is an instrumentality of Baltimore City.
—Darcy Costello, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2024
To effect these seizures, the FBI will simultaneously issue commands that will interfere with the hackers’ control over the instrumentalities of their crimes (the Target Devices), including by preventing the hackers from easily re-infecting the Target Devices with KV Botnet malware.
a.
—Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2024
The common thread here is a blatant, self-serving instrumentality incapable of distinguishing between the desire for order and the desire for domination, between the good of all and one’s own good.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for instrumentality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instrumentality
Noun
-
Some instruments were not in their standard positions, and these were not buttons that could be jostled out of place by an explosion: They were made to be handled by human fingers, which is apparently what happened after the blast.—
Alice George,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 July 2025
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So Goodloe plugged in a Gibson 335, an instrument associated with Chuck Berry.—
Tom Roland,
Billboard,
16 July 2025
Noun
-
Record company executives, agents, producers and bookers dominate the panel discussions.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
23 July 2025
-
Flood insurance is available through your company, agent, or the National Flood Insurance Program.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
22 July 2025
Noun
-
Prosecutors presented cell phone, DNA and vehicle tracking evidence.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
26 July 2025
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Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company launched a new business venture this week: a diner. After first floating the idea for a drive-in where Tesla owners could eat while charging their vehicles back in 2018, the company finally opened the doors to its futuristic diner Monday.—
Karoline Leonard,
Austin American Statesman,
26 July 2025
Noun
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Cars, car parts and agricultural and construction machinery were among the top goods Americans bought from there.—
Kit Maher,
CNN Money,
23 July 2025
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Now the nominations machinery is restarting, and Trump's most controversial judicial nominee is only one step away from the federal bench.—
July 21,
NPR,
21 July 2025
Noun
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The city approved her permits and the state environmental agency said the home would not negatively affect the environment.—
Andrew Wimer,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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Advertisement Supporters of the agency have decried the Supreme Court decision, warning about its potential impact.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
15 July 2025
Noun
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Replace people with mechanisms to drive labor costs down and profits up.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
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In a 1998 essay for The New Yorker, the author Arthur Miller described urbanites’ Depression-era coping mechanisms: People caught the breeze on open-air trolleys, climbed onto the back of ice trucks, and flocked to the beach.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
26 July 2025
Noun
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The discovery of the illness put pressure on the artificial division between psychiatry and neurology—the only two fields of medicine that focus on the same organ.—
Rachel Aviv,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
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Placental mammals have a placenta, an organ that develops during gestation and bridges mother and fetus.—
Sara Novak,
Discover Magazine,
19 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Instrumentality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instrumentality. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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