noun · 3 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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
ə-fĭʹ-shəl-dəm
/əˈfɪ.ʃəl.dəm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɪʃəldəm
CMU ARPABET:AH0 F IH1 SH AH0 L D AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The people elected to government or employed in the civil service.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The state of being official
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, rare, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
people elected or appointed to administer a government
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree English official Proto-Indo-European *dheh1- Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *dhóh1mos Proto-Germanic *dōmaz Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz Proto-West Germanic *-dōm Old English -dōm Middle English -dom English -dom English officialdom From official + -dom.
Across languages
Translations
6 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
чиновничество
(činovničestvo)
— The people elected to government or employed in the civil service
French:
fonctionnariat
— The people elected to government or employed in the civil service
Georgian:
ჩინოვნიკობა
(činovniḳoba)
— The people elected to government or employed in the civil service
Korean:
벼슬
(byeoseul)
— The people elected to government or employed in the civil service
Korean:
관직
(gwanjik)
— The people elected to government or employed in the civil service
Russian:
чиновничество
(činovničestvo)
— The people elected to government or employed in the civil service