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
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as in authorized
ordered or allowed by those in authority
the official languages for those Olympic Games were French and English
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of official
Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2025
Bethune-Cookman University in Florida also reported a potential threat, with school officials confirming their Daytona Beach campus went into lockdown.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025
Ultimately, North was found guilty of destroying official documents, accepting a home security system as a gift and obstructing Congress in 1989.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for official
Noun
Suspect Vance Boelter had a list of possible targets and went to the homes of public officials to conduct violent attacks, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2025
Bethune-Cookman University in Florida also reported a potential threat, with school officials confirming their Daytona Beach campus went into lockdown.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Microsoft rolled out a flexible work policy after offices reopened from pandemic closures where employees were permitted to work from home up to half the time without official approval.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025
Ultimately, North was found guilty of destroying official documents, accepting a home security system as a gift and obstructing Congress in 1989.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for official
Recent Examples of Synonyms for official
Noun
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Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images OpenAI has hired Mike Liberatore, former finance chief at Elon Musk's xAI, to be the artificial intelligence startup's business finance officer, responsible for overseeing its massive infrastructure spending.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
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According to police, 26 officers were injured during the demonstration in London and at least 25 arrests were made.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Mike Wagner is a former board member of Kitten’s First for the San Jose Animal Care Center, an authorized nonprofit partner that managed a foster kitten program for the shelter.—
Michael Wagner,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
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David Forman, Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen, a midshipman who mistook authorized law enforcement as a threat, engaged and was injured in the process.—
Emma Bussey , Jasmine Baehr , Lucas Y. Tomlinson , Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Official.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/official. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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