bureaucratic

adjective

bu·​reau·​crat·​ic ˌbyu̇r-ə-ˈkra-tik 

ˌbyər-

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a bureaucracy or a bureaucrat

bureaucratic government

a bureaucratic organization

bureaucratic procedures

bureaucratically

ˌbyu̇r-ə-ˈkra-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌbyər-

adverb

Examples of bureaucratic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Slashing through thousands of pages of red tape with a stroke of his pen, Shapiro focused solely on rebuilding as fast as possible and refused to let interest group politics or bureaucratic inertia slow things down. —Lindsay Lewis, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024

The bureaucratic mess is also holding up decisions by private scholarship programs and adding to public skepticism about the value of higher education – threatening progress in efforts to get more Americans to and through college. —Liz Willen, Gail Cornwall, Matt Krupnick, Kavitha Cardoza, Ariel Gilreath, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French bureaucratique, from bureaucrate bureaucrat or bureaucratie bureaucracy + -ique -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bureaucratic

• anti-bureaucratic

Kids Definition

bureaucratic

adjective

bu·​reau·​crat·​ic ˌbyu̇r-ə-ˈkrat-ik 

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a bureaucracy or bureaucrat

bureaucratically

-ˈkrat-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb