English Meaning & Definitions
Relating to the business of running an organization or government, often characterized by excessive complexity, rigid adherence to rules, and lack of flexibility.
- “The company's bureaucratic structure made it nearly impossible to implement innovative changes quickly.”
- “We faced endless bureaucratic hurdles just to obtain the necessary building permits.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “bureaucratic”.
Derived from the French 'bureau' (desk, cloth-covered table) + the Greek suffix '-kratia' (power, rule). Coined in the mid-18th century by French economist Vincent de Gournay, it originally referred to the 'rule of the desk,' describing a system where government officials held power through administrative procedures rather than elected representation.
Think of a 'bureau' (a chest of drawers) filled with endless paperwork that slows everything down.
Frequently Asked Questions About “bureaucratic”
1. What is the meaning of “bureaucratic” in English?
In English, bureaucratic (adjective) is defined as: “Relating to the business of running an organization or government, often characterized by excessive complexity, rigid adherence to rules, and lack of flexibility.”.
2. How do you use “bureaucratic” in a sentence?
“The company's bureaucratic structure made it nearly impossible to implement innovative changes quickly.”
3. What are English synonyms of “bureaucratic”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “bureaucratic”?
Derived from the French 'bureau' (desk, cloth-covered table) + the Greek suffix '-kratia' (power, rule). Coined in the mid-18th century by French economist Vincent de Gournay, it originally referred to the 'rule of the desk,' describing a system where government officials held power through administrative procedures rather than elected representation.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.