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Examples of bureaucracy in a Sentence
- As Europe slipped deeper into the war, the uranium panel twiddled its thumbs. It was so mired in bureaucracy that by the spring of 1940, it had managed to approve only the $6,000 in research funds earmarked for Fermi and Szilard, so they could purchase uranium and graphite for their fission experiments. —Jennet Conant, Tuxedo Park, 2002
- In recent books and articles a small but outspoken chorus of former CIA case officers has portrayed the once proudly swashbuckling agency as a timid, politically correct bureaucracy, overly concerned with being held to account by the press and Capitol Hill. —Evan Thomas, Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2002
- Proving that even lumbering federal bureaucracies can move quickly when they have to, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last week took advantage of Congress' extended holiday break to introduce its long-awaited—and, perhaps, long-dreaded—ergonomic standards. —Editor & Publisher, 27 Nov. 1999
She was fed up with all the red tape and bureaucracy.
Both candidates pledge to simplify the state's bloated bureaucracy.
Recent Examples of bureaucracy from the Web
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The case illustrates how bureaucracy in Cook County can slow investigations for years.
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There are a lot of steps that have to happen between now and then, most fundamentally that this is an FBI investigation, not NCAA, so the evidence would have to be transferred or otherwise accepted from one bureaucracy to another.
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Union leaders say the criticism is unfair and blame poor decision-making by management and an unwieldy bureaucracy.
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That ISIS’s penchant for brutality is matched by its acumen for efficient bureaucracy.
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Both are conflicts between bureaucracies trying to force their will over poor and working-class communities.
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For most of its runtime, Unsane is a nerve-jangling modern-day Kafka story, as Sawyer and her horrified mother (Amy Irving) crash up against an indifferent bureaucracy designed to keep people like Sawyer locked up.
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Aviation Week & Space Technology reports that parts shortages and bureaucracy are hampering efforts to keep the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the air.
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Tocco says his firm makes a point of expanding beyond legislative work, to include navigating other facets of government bureaucracy and providing strategic advice.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bureaucracy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Roots of bureaucracy
Bureaucracy was borrowed from the French bureaucratie, which itself was formed by combining bureau (“desk”) and -cratie (a suffix denoting a kind of government). The English word can refer to an entire body of unelected government officials or to the problematic system (often filled with red tape) that may result from administration by bureaucrats. From its earliest appearances, bureaucracy has carried a distinctly negative connotation. An 1815 London Times article, for example, declares: “. . . it is in this bureaucracy, Gentlemen, that you will find the invisible and mischievous power which thwarts the most noble views, and prevents or weakens the effect of all the salutary reforms which France is incessantly calling for.”
Origin and Etymology of bureaucracy
First Known Use: 1815
in the meaning defined at sense 1a
See Words from the same yearOther Government and Politics Terms
BUREAUCRACY Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of bureaucracy for English Language Learners
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: a large group of people who are involved in running a government but who are not elected
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: a system of government or business that has many complicated rules and ways of doing things
Learn More about bureaucracy
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See words that rhyme with bureaucracy Spanish Central: Translation of bureaucracy Nglish: Translation of bureaucracy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bureaucracy for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bureaucracy
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