Phrase guide

ex officio

adj · adv · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌɛks əˈfɪʃioʊ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

By virtue of the office that originated it, or of the title held.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

By virtue of the office that originated it, or of the title held.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • The President of the Republic of France is, ex officio, also prince of the dyarchy called Andorra.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: motu proprio, of one's own motion, sua sponte, suo motu

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

by virtue of an office or position

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the head of the department serves as an ex officio member of the board

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adverb

Meaning 4

by virtue of position

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the president sat on the committee ex officio

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: by right of office

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin ex officio (“by right of office”, literally “from the office”).

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 當然 /当然 (dāngrán) — by virtue of an office or title
  • Chinese Mandarin: 官守 (guānshǒu) — by virtue of an office or title
  • Dutch: ambtshalve — by virtue of an office or title
  • Finnish: viran puolesta — by virtue of an office or title
  • German: von Amts wegen — by virtue of an office or title
  • German: amtswegig — by virtue of an office or title
  • German: kraft Amtes — by virtue of an office or title
  • German: qua Amt — by virtue of an office or title
  • Hungarian: hivatalból — by virtue of an office or title
  • Polish: z urzędu — by virtue of an office or title
  • Spanish: de oficio — by virtue of an office or title
  • Swedish: ex officio — by virtue of an office or title
  • Swedish: å ämbetets vägnar — by virtue of an office or title
  • Swedish: på ämbetets vägnar — by virtue of an office or title
  • Tagalog: sabilin — by virtue of an office or title
  • Turkish: resen — by virtue of an office or title