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

Director of Transportation Tom Vander Woude said huge cost changes likely would also include changing the scope of the project, which automatically triggers the amendment process and the resultant bureaucratic reviews. —Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026

Seen in this light, the resignations of federal government attorneys in Minneapolis are not just a bureaucratic drama. —Stephanie A, The Conversation, 22 Jan. 2026

This helps to reduce the high power distance typically found in bureaucratic structures. —Midhat Zwayen, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026

When she is summoned back to her hometown to settle the death of an absent father, what should be a brief administrative detour unravels into unresolved debts, institutional inertia, and a decaying body caught in bureaucratic limbo. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Jan. 2026

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