official

[ uh-fish-uhl ]

noun

1. a person appointed or elected to an office or charged with certain duties.

adjective

1. of or relating to an office or position of duty, trust, or authority:

   official powers.

2. authorized or issued authoritatively:

   an official report.

3. holding office.
4. appointed or authorized to act in a designated capacity:

   an official representative.

5. (of an activity or event) intended for the notice of the public and performed or held on behalf of officials or of an organization; formal:

   the official opening of a store.

6. Pharmacology. noting drugs or drug preparations that are recognized by and that conform to the standards of the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary.

Official

¹

/ əˈfɪʃəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to one of the two factions of the IRA and Sinn Féin, created by a split in 1969. The Official movement subsequently renounced terrorism and entered constitutional politics in the Irish Republic as the Workers' Party (now the Democratic Left)

noun

1. a member of the Official IRA and Sinn Féin

official

²

/ əˈfɪʃəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to an office, its administration, or its duration
2. sanctioned by, recognized by, or derived from authority

   an official statement

3. appointed by authority, esp for some special duty
4. having a formal ceremonial character

   an official dinner

noun

1. a person who holds a position in an organization, government department, etc, esp a subordinate position

Other Words From

• of·ficial·ly adverb
• nonof·ficial adjective
• nonof·ficial·ly adverb
• preof·ficial adjective
• preof·ficial·ly adverb
• pseudo·of·ficial adjective noun
• pseudo·of·ficial·ly adverb
• quasi-of·ficial adjective
• quasi-of·ficial·ly adverb
• subof·ficial noun adjective
• subof·ficial·ly adverb
• under·of·ficial adjective
• unof·ficial adjective
• unof·ficial·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of official¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Late Latin officiālis “of duty,” equivalent to Latin offici(um) “service, duty” + -ālis adjective suffix; office, -al ¹

Example Sentences

That came days after the BBC reported that a senior Azerbaijani official appeared to have used his role at COP to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.

From BBC

The committee lost its jurisdiction over Gaetz with his resignation, making an official release of the report unlikely.

From Salon

His cruel efforts to ban individuals from a number of Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States became official policy that is likely to be restored on day one.

From Slate

“There could be an argument here because the church’s official website links to his Facebook page that has electioneering on it, and he is speaking for the church in that capacity as well,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

But one senior former intelligence official told Politico that allies like Israel would still have "serious qualms" about Gabbard.

From Salon

Related Words

• administrator
• agent
• bureaucrat
• civil servant
• commissioner
• director
• executive
• leader
• manager
• minister
• officer
• representative
• secretary