bureaucratic

[byoor-uh-krat-ik]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a bureaucrat or a bureaucracy; arbitrary and routine.

bureaucratic

/ ˌbjʊərəˈkrætɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to bureaucrats; characterized by bureaucracy

Other Word Forms

• bureaucratically adverb
• antibureaucratic adjective
• nonbureaucratic adjective
• nonbureaucratically adverb
• semibureaucratic adjective
• semibureaucratically adverb
• unbureaucratic adjective
• unbureaucratically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bureaucratic¹

From the French word bureaucratique, dating back to 1830–40. See bureaucrat, -ic

Example Sentences

“I think it helps a lot for people who are victims of fire to see progress,” Abraham told me, saying he’s managed the bureaucratic hurdles and made sure his material suppliers are lined up.

From Los Angeles Times

Villaraigosa also focused on the need to build more housing, criticizing bureaucratic red tape and slow permitting processes.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality,” Zeldin said in a news release.

From Los Angeles Times

A bureaucratic error had metastasized into a kind of social sentence.

From Salon

On this, his third album, he picks at the scabs of northern working-class life, and rails against a system that leaves families mired in bureaucratic neglect.

From BBC

Related Words

• commanding 
• directorial 
• governmental www.thesaurus.com
• legislative 
• ministerial 
• organizational www.thesaurus.com
• policy-making www.thesaurus.com
• regulatory 
• supervisory