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

Derived Forms

• ˌbureauˈcratically, adverb

Other Words From

• bureau·crati·cal·ly adverb
• anti·bureau·cratic adjective
• nonbu·reau·cratic adjective
• nonbu·reau·crati·cal·ly adverb
• semi·bureau·cratic adjective
• semi·bureau·crati·cal·ly adverb
• unbu·reau·cratic adjective
• unbu·reau·crati·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bureaucratic¹

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

Example Sentences

His story opens and closes with a bureaucratic roundelay that many travelers, including those who are not transporting traps or a puma, may find relatable.

From Washington Post

Historically, the DNI had authority on paper that didn’t always translate into bureaucratic clout.

From Washington Post

The official name of the grant program is the Urban Area Security Initiative, and its organizational chart is a bureaucratic maze, all housed under the San Diego County Unified Disaster Council.

From Voice of San Diego

China isn’t exactly great about meeting deadlines either, but its space agency doesn’t have to deal with bureaucratic uncertainty the way NASA does.

From MIT Technology Review

That changed after a Voice of San Diego story highlighted bureaucratic fumbling by city and county officials as hepatitis A deaths increased.

From Voice of San Diego

The path may be there, but current travelers to Sudan face a bureaucratic nightmare of permits and road blocks.

From The Daily Beast

Bureaucratic inertia is, by long tradition, the most efficient dispatcher of scandals.

From The Daily Beast

Even private institutions, which most likely have less bureaucratic hurdles to deal with, have been slow to pull the trigger.

From The Daily Beast

This entire ordeal reeks of bureaucratic overreach being bandied about in the name of “let-us-save-the-children” politics.

From The Daily Beast

His most apparent and highly-touted skill was that he understood his way around bureaucratic Washington.

From The Daily Beast

The last ties which bound him to the bureaucratic world snapped under the strain of this act of injustice.

From Project Gutenberg

The large amount of self-administration has prevented an undue increase of bureaucratic power.

From Project Gutenberg

Socialism does not mean that there is to be a great bureaucratic government owning everything and controlling everybody.

From Project Gutenberg

The new King was known to be no supporter of the predominantly bureaucratic and military monarchy of his father.

From Project Gutenberg

This plan was described by many as an example of a blundering surrender to Socialism and a concession to bureaucratic tendencies.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• commanding
• directorial
• governmental
• legislative
• ministerial
• organizational
• policy-making
• regulatory
• supervisory