official
noun
a person appointed or elected to an office or charged with certain duties.
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official
American
[uh-fish-uhl]
/ əˈfɪʃ əl /
noun
-
officials
plural
adjective
-
of or relating to an office or position of duty, trust, or authority.
official powers.
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authorized or issued authoritatively.
an official report.
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holding office.
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appointed or authorized to act in a designated capacity.
an official representative.
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(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.
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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
-
of or relating to an office, its administration, or its duration
-
sanctioned by, recognized by, or derived from authority
an official statement
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appointed by authority, esp for some special duty
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having a formal ceremonial character
an official dinner
noun
Official
2
British
/ əˈfɪʃəl /
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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subofficialnoun
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nonofficialadjective
-
preofficialadjective
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pseudoofficialadjective
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quasi-officialadjective
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underofficialadjective
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unofficialadjective
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nonofficiallyadverb
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officiallyadverb
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preofficiallyadverb
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pseudoofficiallyadverb
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quasi-officiallyadverb
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subofficiallyadverb
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unofficiallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see origin at office, -al 1
Explanation
Official is the real deal. If you want the latest news from Graceland, check the official Elvis Presley website. But you’ll have to look elsewhere to find the unofficial, unapproved, and highly unlikely scoop on Elvis sightings. If something is official, it's authorized and approved by somebody. If Gatorade is the official drink of the Olympics, somebody with authority has signed some papers and a deal has been made. When you're playing soccer or other sports, the official is the person who makes the calls; he referees (or officiates) the game.
Vocabulary lists containing official
Frindle
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Workshop 3, Part 1
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Early Civilizations of China, Lessons 4–6
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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.
See Examples For:
Japan has not been able to contact the individual and did not know about the arrest until the official announcement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press briefing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
The expert medical panel that Anderson heads up with Sachin Malde, a London-based consultant urological surgeon, is planning to deliver its official definition of chronic UTI in 2027.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Tony Corrente, a former baseball coach at La Mirada who won a CIF title in 1988, made it to the NFL for 26 years as an official and was referee for Super Bowl XI.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Yi’s work suggests the demographic headwinds may be even stronger than official figures indicate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
But official records and the contemporaneous testimony of friends do not seem to support her version of their ages.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Official figures show that in 2024-25 around 30,400 deaths in the UK left estates which were liable for inheritance tax.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Official accounts ignore a cost every household pays: the time spent sorting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Official statistics show there has been about a 10% increase in traffic on the road in the last 10 years alone, with increase of about 30% forecast over the next 25 years.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Holt said that the following month, Zhang messaged PRC Official 2 that she was busy with work in L.A. but would “probably go to Seattle next week.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Rio pulled out a copy of The Official C.I.A.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Leading AI minds and executives will attend the summit including Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis and Microsoft President Brad Smith, as well as the EU's most senior tech officials including Henna Virkkunen.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Six Flags Over Georgia park officials said staff found the man, identified as 42-year-old Atlanta resident Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, beneath the ride.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Europe and as far away as Australia every day, cheaper and purer than they’ve been in decades, said law-enforcement officials across four continents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Any attempt to pre-empt this local process with a one-size-fits-all policy strips local residents and officials of their role and their voice,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Palsson began visiting Bobby at the jail and met with some of the Japanese officials to see what he could do.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
