Synonyms of official

official 1 of 2

noun

ə-ˈfi-shəl 

as in officer

a person who holds a public office

some of our best public officials do their jobs quietly and are never in the news

Synonyms & Similar Words

• officer
• administrator
• director
• manager
• executive
• functionary
• commissioner
• public servant
• officeholder
• chair
• chairman
• superintendent
• supervisor
• bureaucrat
• regulator
• head
• minion
• flunky
• underling
• co-official

official

2 of 2

adjective

as in authorized

ordered or allowed by those in authority

the official languages for those Olympic Games were French and English

Synonyms & Similar Words

• authorized
• legitimate
• promoted
• legal
• lawful
• sanctioned
• suggested
• authoritative
• supported
• approved
• endorsed
• licensed
• regulation
• permissible
• certified
• legit
• canonical
• semiofficial
• licit
• encouraged
• abetted
• ex officio

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unofficial
• unauthorized
• illegal
• unlawful
• nonofficial
• wrongful
• illicit
• unsanctioned
• illegitimate
• impermissible
• lawless
• unlicensed
• unapproved
• verboten

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of official

Noun

Sweden’s ambassador to Somalia, Hans Henric Lundquist, visited the Luglow nutrition center with Lattouf and met local officials, mothers and children. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026

In the summer of 2013, a local public-health official named Cristóbal Villar sent out a message on Radio Nacional Malargüe directed to a handful of pastoralist families scattered across the upper reaches of the Barrancas River. — Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Adjective

Look for the same announcement in its newsroom or another official channel. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

The official death toll represents only those buried by authorities in Djibouti. — Jamey Keaten, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026