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

Financing, along with bureaucratic hurdles the city has attempted to address, are often the largest barriers for developments like the Stockton Boulevard hotel, said Councilmember Caity Maple. — Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2026

The delay in natural progression is so severe that the children of Russia’s aging elites are being introduced below them in bureaucratic positions of their own, bypassing an intermediate generation. — Julian G. Waller, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026

While the world security situation transforms at breakneck speed, the shipping industry, along with the maritime regulators and economic policymakers that back the merchant marine seem stuck, trapped in age-old bureaucratic inertia. — Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

The approach, spearheaded by local congressmember and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, would leverage the mundane, bureaucratic oversight of local government in the fight against immigration enforcement facilities. — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 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