bureaucracy
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bu·reauc·ra·cy
(byo͝o-rŏk′rə-sē)n. pl. bu·reauc·ra·cies
1.
a. Administration of a government chiefly through bureaus or departments staffed with nonelected officials.
b. The departments and their officials as a group: promised to reorganize the federal bureaucracy.
2.
a. Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices and by fixed procedures: The new department head did not know much about bureaucracy.
b. The administrative structure of a large or complex organization: a midlevel manager in a corporate bureaucracy.
3. An administrative system in which the need or inclination to follow rigid or complex procedures impedes effective action: innovative ideas that get bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy.
[French bureaucratie : bureau, office; see bureau + -cratie, rule (from Old French; see -cracy).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bureaucracy
(bjʊəˈrɒkrəsɪ)n, pl -cies
1. a system of administration based upon organization into bureaus, division of labour, a hierarchy of authority, etc: designed to dispose of a large body of work in a routine manner
2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) government by such a system
3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) government or other officials collectively
4. any administration in which action is impeded by unnecessary official procedures and red tape
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
bu•reauc•ra•cy
(byʊˈrɒk rə si)n., pl. -cies.
1. government by a rigid hierarchy of bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.
2. a body of officials and administrators, esp. in a government.
3. excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, bureaus or administrators.
4. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.
[1810–20; < French bureaucratie; see -cracy]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bureaucracy
See also government.
the world of petty and officious bureaucrats. Cf. bumbledom.
the world of petty and incompetent officials.
1. a government typified by a rigid hierarchy of bureaus, administrators, and minor officials.
2. a body of administrators; officialdom.
3. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine. — bureaucratie, adj.
2. a body of administrators; officialdom.
3. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine. — bureaucratie, adj.
turgid, misleading language, as typical of bureaucracies. Cf. federalese, officialese.
an obsession with public employment.
language typical of the U.S. federal government, especially bureaucrtic jargon. Cf. bureaucratese, officialese.
1. the realm or position of officials.
2. excessively close adherence to bureaucratie procedure.
2. excessively close adherence to bureaucratie procedure.
language characteristic of officialdom, typified by polysyllabism and much periphrasis. Cf. bureaucratese, federalese.
1. any official regulations or procedures.
2. an excessive emphasis on official regulations or procedures.
3. officials in general or collectively.
2. an excessive emphasis on official regulations or procedures.
3. officials in general or collectively.
designation for a pompous official, taken from a story by Samuel Foote(1755).
the practice of requiring excessive paperwork and tedious procedures before official action can be considered or completed. Also called red-tapery. — red-tapist n.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bureaucracy
government officials collectively, 1848.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
bureaucracy
A system of government administration in which a hierarchy of nonelected professional officials is in control and often insists on strict adherence to standard procedures.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  bureaucracy - nonelective government officials Pentagon - the United States military establishment civil service - government workers; usually hired on the basis of competitive examinations government officials, officialdom - people elected or appointed to administer a government |
| 2. | bureaucracy - a government that is administered primarily by bureaus that are staffed with nonelective officials authorities, government, regime - the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit; "the government reduced taxes"; "the matter was referred to higher authorities" | |
| 3. | bureaucracy - any organization in which action is obstructed by insistence on unnecessary procedures and red tape organization, organisation - a group of people who work together |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
bureaucracy
noun
1. government, officials, authorities, administration, ministry, the system, civil service, directorate, officialdom, corridors of power State bureaucracies tend to stifle enterprise and initiative.
2. red tape, regulations, paperwork, officialdom, officialese, bumbledom People complain about having to deal with too much bureaucracy.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
البيروقراطيه: حُكْمُ الموظفينبيروقْراطِيَّةدَوْلَةٌ بيروقراطيه
byrokraciebyrokratická země
bureaukratiembedsmandsvælde
bürokraatia
byrokratiahallintokoneisto
birokracija
bürokrácia
skrifræîi, skrifstofuveldi
관료주의
biurokratijabiurokratinė valstybėbiurokratinisvaldininkija
birokrātijabirokrātisms
byrokraciabyrokratická krajina
byråkrati
ระบบบริหารที่มีพิธีรีตรอง
bürokrasikırtasiyecilikmerkeziyetçilik
bộ máy công chức
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
bureaucracy
n → Bürokratie f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
bureaucracy
(bjuˈrokrəsi) noun1. a system of government by officials working for a government.
2. a country having such a government which uses such officials.
ˌbureauˈcratic adjectiveKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
bureaucracy
→ بيروقْراطِيَّة byrokracie bureaukrati Bürokratie γραφειοκρατία burocracia byrokratia bureaucratie birokracija burocraziaMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009