official
Americannoun
adjective
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of or relating to an office or position of duty, trust, or authority.
official powers.
-
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.
adjective
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of or relating to an office, its administration, or its duration
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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
adjective
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an emailed statement, Miami-Dade County Public Schools officials said the district is aware of an investigation involving Carvalho but declined to comment.
From Los Angeles Times
Now, some officials in San Diego have begun to have second thoughts of their own.
From Los Angeles Times
Their effort has exposed tensions between people who see the waterways as natural creeks and county officials who see them as flood channels.
From Los Angeles Times
Justice Department officials have said they didn’t find evidence to bring charges against anyone else and that some of the files contained unverified allegations.
Yet, the Pentagon sees the potential for autonomous weapons—with a human in the loop, as officials stress—as important to national security, given the advances seen in drone technology in places such as Ukraine.
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.
