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• official
  official

  noun

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

  adjective

  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)

official

American  

[uh-fish-uhl] / əˈfɪʃ əl /

noun

• officials
  plural

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

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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 British  

/ 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

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noun

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

Official ² British  

/ 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)

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noun

1. a member of the Official IRA and Sinn Féin

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subofficial
  noun
• nonofficial
  adjective
• preofficial
  adjective
• pseudoofficial
  adjective
• quasi-official
  adjective
• underofficial
  adjective
• unofficial
  adjective
• nonofficially
  adverb
• officially
  adverb
• preofficially
  adverb
• pseudoofficially
  adverb
• quasi-officially
  adverb
• subofficially
  adverb
• unofficially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• officials
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of official

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

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Explanation

Official is the real deal. If you want the latest news from Graceland, check the official Elvis Presley website. But you’ll have to look elsewhere to find the unofficial, unapproved, and highly unlikely scoop on Elvis sightings. If something is official, it's authorized and approved by somebody. If Gatorade is the official drink of the Olympics, somebody with authority has signed some papers and a deal has been made. When you're playing soccer or other sports, the official is the person who makes the calls; he referees (or officiates) the game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

official Official officials

The RBA has raised interest rates five times this year, and the official cash rate is now at its highest level in 18 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Relatives of Britons killed in this summer's wildfires in Spain have told the BBC they are disgusted, after regional politicians blocked an official inquiry into the disaster.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The official Cybertruck X account posted a video early Friday morning of the vehicle driving into the sunset, while Musk confirmed that the Cybertruck would be discontinued next year.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

YK Enerji -- which is jointly owned by Limak Holding and IC Holding, both of which are official "climate supporters" of COP31 -- supports Turkey’s "carbon neutrality target," he said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

I offer to write all the official winners in my notebook and make us all certificates.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Official survey vessels criss-cross disputed waters to test rival governments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Official election results, however, won’t be published until Nov. 4.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

He was charged under the Official Secrets Act, avoided jail, and was fined £2,500.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Official figures put turnout at just 38% of registered voters, while the proportion of all eligible voters who cast a ballot was even lower.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The newspapers weren’t allowed to say which of our warships’d been hit at first, cause of the Official Secrets Act.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Logan’s office said its review of about 200 flagged voters found that a substantial portion appeared to have been born in the United States, a finding Homeland Security officials disputed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani spoke with President Trump on Friday, and Gulf officials said there were signs that both sides were looking for an off-ramp.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

Police officials in the Netherlands described the small boat rescue as rare.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

It is structurally sound, but the bridge deck is deteriorating rapidly, according to Caltrans officials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

He began lobbying officials there to include the various second-line antibiotics on their list of “essential drugs”—a list that the ministries followed and allocated money for in their budgets.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

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Related Words

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