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official

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Derived from the proper office or officer, or the appropriate authority.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhfishuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əˈfɪʃəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Having official authority or sanction

  2. Derived from the proper office or officer, or the appropriate authority; made or communicated by authority

  3. Approved by authority; authorized.

  4. Relating to an office, especially a subordinate executive officer or attendant.

  5. Of a statement

    Dubious but recognized by authorities as the truth or canon.

  6. informal

    True, real, beyond doubt.

noun

  1. An office holder, a person holding an official position in government, sports, or other organization.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

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More ways to use official

  • “The golfer asked for an official who could give him a ruling.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Derived / relating

official language

Office

official position

Other combinations

official policyofficial statisticsofficial capacityofficial journalofficial reports

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • officernounPerson or profession

    Any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command.

  • officiallyadverbDerived adverb

    In an official role.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • official documentnounCompound term

    A document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right.

  • official emissarynounCompound term

    A member of a legation.

  • official immunitynounCompound term

    Personal immunity accorded to a public official from liability to anyone injured by actions that are the consequence of exerting official authority.

  • administrative officialnounCompound term

    An official of a bureaucracy.

  • elected officialnounCompound term

    Official who won the office in a free election.

  • federal officialnounCompound term

    Any federal law-enforcement officer.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • office of intelligence supportnounRelated term

    Agency that oversees the intelligence relationships of the Treasury's offices and bureaus and provides a link between the Intelligence Community and officials responsible for international…

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

adjective

Sense: having official authority or sanction

semiofficialRareestablishedformalformalized

noun

Sense: office holder

functionary

Antonyms

Sense: having official authority or sanction

unofficial

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.