Standard Lemma guide

officialdom

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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: government officials

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: administration, governance, governing body, establishment, brass, organization, organisation

Narrower terms: civil service, bureaucracy, bureaucratism

History

Etymology

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