administrative

adjective

ad·​min·​is·​tra·​tive əd-ˈmi-nə-ˌstrā-tiv 

-strə-

: of or relating to administration or an administration : relating to the management of a company, school, or other organization

administrative tasks/duties/responsibilities

administrative expenses/costs

a hospital's administrative staff

… these schools are given wide latitude in creating their teaching programs as long as they meet certain academic standards; they are also freed from many of the administrative and hiring rules governing traditional public schools.

—Suzanna Andrews

Synonyms of administrative

• managerial

Examples of administrative in a Sentence

She has an administrative job.

among his other administrative duties is the appointment of transit authority officials

Recent Examples on the Web

The ticket scheme that guarantees each fan entry to games until their team are knocked out requires almost £5,200 to be paid to FIFA by February, with any refunds not paid until the tournament’s close in July, minus an administrative fee. —Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025

Assistant professor Kelli Alvarez promoted a protest on behalf of Curth's reinstatement, but ended up on administrative leave herself after a discrimination complaint was filed against her. —Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 13 Dec. 2025

The district said Robinson was removed from his coaching duties and placed on administrative leave before his arrest while both the school and law enforcement conducted separate reviews. —Christopher Harris, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025

Before the merger, the Foundation spent 15% of all donations on administrative costs. —Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

administr(ation) + -ative

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing administrative

• administrative county
• administrative law

Rhymes for administrative

• accommodative
• accumulative
• adjudicative
• agglutinative
• ameliorative
• appreciative
• assimilative
• associative
• authoritative
• collaborative
• cooperative
• deliberative

Kids Definition

administrative

adjective

ad·​min·​is·​tra·​tive əd-ˈmin-ə-ˌstrāt-iv 

-strət-

: of or relating to administration

an administrative position

Legal Definition

administrative

adjective

ad·​min·​i·​stra·​tive əd-ˈmi-nə-ˌstrā-tiv 

1

: of or relating to the performance of a function : ministerial

administrative communications include…instructions that encourage a jury to continue its deliberations

—National Law Journal

2

: of or relating to the executive branch of a government compare legislative, judicial

3

: of or relating to a government agency

administrative remedies