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

When ballots are sent by mail, election officials are required to verify a voter’s signature on the ballot by comparing it with the signature on the official voter registration records on file.

From Los Angeles Times

Recently, school officials reached out to the Columbia Heights Police Department to ask if their deliveries may be putting families at risk.

From Salon

Berkshire officials also stepped off Kraft Heinz’s board.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bank Indonesia said it will step in as needed to keep the rupiah in line with economic fundamentals, and will remain active through interventions, an official said in a statement.

From The Wall Street Journal

If a plan was put together recently, the former official said, it was likely compiled quickly and without much vetting from multiple parts of the government.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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