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
-
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
-
pseudoofficialadjective
-
quasi-officialadjective
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underofficialadjective
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unofficialadjective
-
nonofficiallyadverb
-
officiallyadverb
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preofficiallyadverb
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pseudoofficiallyadverb
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quasi-officiallyadverb
-
subofficiallyadverb
-
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:
According to prosecutors, Rush also transmitted top secret national defense information to a "foreign government official" in 2025.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Their father has been a longtime official and coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Singer Jade Thirlwall says working on the official song for BBC documentary Blue Planet III is "one of the best things" she's ever done.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
A State Department spokesperson said the department has officially requested additional information from the Russian government and it is in official communication with other countries around the world to share information.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
One of Hubler’s close associates, a trader named Mike Edman, became the official creator of a new idea: a credit default swap on what amounted to a timeless pool of subprime loans.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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
Official selling prices are monthly rates set by national oil companies for term-contract customers and are typically pegged to regional crude benchmarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Official data shows 23 per cent of investigations across England and Wales led to a charge or summons in the 12 months up to April this year.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
"Couldn't we give him the title of Official Dancing Bear to Your Royal Majesty, Papa? He'd draw crowds wherever he went."
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has ordered officials to "get on with the job" of building one of Northern Ireland's biggest road projects after a court ruling blocking the work was overturned.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But Russian officials downplayed the reports this week, saying that postmortem tests did not detect the disease in her body and that no special measures were in place.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Soviet officials initially said the illnesses were the result of contaminated meat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Lineage officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Among the Greek officials who gathered at the wreck site to observe the progress was Minister Spyridon Stais, the man who commissioned Kontos and his crew to conduct the excavation.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
