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

In a social media post on Sunday night Stormont's Executive Office encouraged people to follow official advice.

From BBC

The club's official photographs show each player with director of football Hugo Viana.

From BBC

Mark Readman, Durham County Council's head of highway services, said the authority understood how frustrated residents were and officials were "continuing to explore all options for the road".

From BBC

Beijing's five-year plan for 2026-2030 will aim to address such issues, with officials vowing it will "create new demand through new supply and provide strong innovative measures".

From Barron's

The Democratic president at the time released a famous photo showing himself and top officials in the Situation Room, the ultra-secure space in the White House, watching the operation play out live.

From Barron's

Related Words

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