administrative
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- administratively adverb
- nonadministrative adjective
- nonadministratively adverb
- preadministrative adjective
- subadministrative adjective
- subadministratively adverb
- unadministrative adjective
- unadministratively adverb
Etymology
Origin of administrative
From the Latin word administrātīvus, dating back to 1725–35. See administrate, -ive
Explanation
If your job is administrative, you're pretty much limited to paperwork, check-writing, or maybe hiring and firing. Administrative means having to do with overseeing the "office-y" things. An artist doesn't have time for administrative details; they're too busy creating. A successful artist will hire a manager to handle the administrative aspects of his career, such as contacting galleries, setting up shows, and making sure they get paid for their work. People who handle administrative duties are often called bureaucrats, which is typically not a nice name to be called. Sometimes they're called "administrators." Teachers are there to teach; principals have to handle the administrative duties of running a school.
Vocabulary lists containing administrative
Obama's 2013 State of the Union
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Sincerely Sicily
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State and Local Governments, Sections 1–4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last month, the state public-service commission ruled Sleca could abandon 158 customers, including the Boss family, but sent the case over the remaining 124 back to an administrative law judge.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Alberto Carvalho is on paid administrative leave following an FBI raid on his San Pedro home and downtown L.A. office, Chernoff said it feels “like all the wheels are falling off the bus.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
In addition to increased documentation requirements and the rollback of administrative improvements, the way states and participants interact has been fundamentally altered by the passage of H.R.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
Half of our administrative discussions were focused around how to limit A.I.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
He drove me around the grounds in his own car, and pointed out the recreation hall, hospital, school, administrative offices, and the two-story brick buildings he called cottages where the patients lived.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
