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

Though the efficiency and growth results can be very powerful, the program is most successful when a mothership organization trusts the new group enough to separate it from the bureaucratic command and control culture. —Dean Debiase, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025

His rhetoric alienates job creators, leaving entrepreneurs to face bureaucratic red tape and an uncertain future. —Mike Dunleavy, New York Daily News, 14 July 2025

Housing supply remains chronically low, and every policy designed to fix it gets swallowed up by bureaucratic red tape, labor restrictions, and environmental lawsuits. —Melissa Melendez, Oc Register, 13 July 2025

White House advisers are now unequivocally engaged in a coordinated effort to dramatically ramp up the pressure on Powell in public statements and through bureaucratic moves designed to give Trump more leverage. —Phil Mattingly, CNN Money, 11 July 2025

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

Rhymes for bureaucratic

• adiabatic
• aristocratic
• asymptomatic
• axiomatic
• diagrammatic
• diaphragmatic
• electrostatic
• endolymphatic
• epigrammatic
• homeostatic
• idiomatic
• magnetostatic

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