official

[ uh-fish-uh l ]

/ əˈfɪʃ əl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR official ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person appointed or elected to an office or charged with certain duties.

adjective

of or relating to an office or position of duty, trust, or authority: official powers.

authorized or issued authoritatively: an official report.

holding office.

appointed or authorized to act in a designated capacity: an official representative.

(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.

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.

Origin of official

1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin officiālis of duty, equivalent to Latin offici(um) office + -ālis -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM official

of·fi·cial·ly, adverb non·of·fi·cial, adjective non·of·fi·cial·ly, adverb pre·of·fi·cial, adjective

pre·of·fi·cial·ly, adverb pseu·do·of·fi·cial, adjective, noun pseu·do·of·fi·cial·ly, adverb qua·si-of·fi·cial, adjective qua·si-of·fi·cial·ly, adverb sub·of·fi·cial, noun, adjective sub·of·fi·cial·ly, adverb un·der·of·fi·cial, adjective un·of·fi·cial, adjective un·of·fi·cial·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH official

official officious

Words nearby official

officer of arms, officer of the day, officer of the deck, officer of the guard, officer of the watch, official, official family, official formula, official receiver, official referee, official solicitor

Example sentences from the Web for official

Whatever the FBI says, the truthers will create alternative hypotheses that try to challenge the ‘official story.’

Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack? |Shane Harris |January 8, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
There is a long history of official anti-clericalism in Mexico, but the atmosphere in Tierra Caliente goes far beyond that.

Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder |Jason McGahan |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Apart from the video, the Saraya Al-Khorasani group has made no official declaration that it is linked to Taghavi.

What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq |IranWire |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
She vowed to repay the money—no official word, however, on whether she ever did that.

Fergie Dives Into Prince Andrew’s Sex Scandal |Tom Sykes |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

Boehner was unanimously selected by the conference as its official nominee for speaker in the coming Congress.

The YOLO Caucus' New Cry for Attention |Ben Jacobs |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
No officer of the Italian government was to enter the Lateran or Vatican palaces upon any official mission.

An Introduction to the History of Western Europe |James Harvey Robinson
"In Caesar's name," repeated the official, who had been selected for the duty of reading the Imperial message.

Serapis, Complete |Georg Ebers
The official evidently was telling Argo something of importance.

Tarrano the Conqueror |Raymond King Cummings
This king despatched a return embassy to Fu-nan and his ambassadors met there an official sent by the Emperor of China.

Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 (of 3) |Charles Eliot
The Official Board decided in favor of the School, and an alienation of feeling was the result.

Thirty Years in the Itinerancy |Wesson Gage Miller

British Dictionary definitions for official (1 of 2)

official

/ (əˈfɪʃəl) /

adjective

of or relating to an office, its administration, or its duration

sanctioned by, recognized by, or derived from authority an official statement

appointed by authority, esp for some special duty

having a formal ceremonial character an official dinner

noun

a person who holds a position in an organization, government department, etc, esp a subordinate position

British Dictionary definitions for official (2 of 2)

Official

/ (əˈfɪʃəl) /

adjective

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)

noun

a member of the Official IRA and Sinn Féin

Compare Provisional

Medical definitions for official

official

[ ə-fĭsh′əl ]

adj.

Authorized by or contained in the US Pharmacopoeia or National Formulary. Used of drugs.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

official

noun

adjective

Origin of official

OTHER WORDS FROM official

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH official

Words nearby official

Example sentences from the Web for official

British Dictionary definitions for official (1 of 2)

adjective

noun

British Dictionary definitions for official (2 of 2)

adjective

noun

Medical definitions for official

adj.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

official

noun

adjective

Origin of official

OTHER WORDS FROM official

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH official

Words nearby official

Words related to official

Example sentences from the Web for official

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for official (1 of 2)

adjective

noun

British Dictionary definitions for official (2 of 2)

adjective

noun

Medical definitions for official

adj.

British Dictionary definitions for official (1 of 2)