official

American  

[uh-fish-uhl] / əˈfɪʃ əl /

noun

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

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

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; office, -al ¹

Example Sentences

The defence official said a "massive attack" was carried out on a plant in Togliatti that produced synthetic rubber and petrochemical raw materials.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile arrived in Ankara on Saturday for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. on security cooperation, a Ukrainian official told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

Reviewing them “was a massive effort. The agency proceeded glacially, but really we were speeding as fast as we could,” the official said.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

“I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an official like that, I would get tossed.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

He puts on his official Gene the Mean smirk.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Related Words

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