Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of or relating to an office or a post of authority.
- adjective Authorized by a proper authority; authoritative.
- adjective Holding office or serving in a public capacity.
- adjective Characteristic of or befitting a person of authority; formal.
- adjective Authorized by or contained in the US Pharmacopoeia or National Formulary. Used of drugs.
- noun One who holds an office or position, especially one who acts in a subordinate capacity for an institution such as a corporation or governmental agency.
- noun Sports A referee or umpire.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In pharm., authorized by the pharmacopœia of some country or countries: as, an official drug; an official preparation. In this sense recent, displacing the broader term officinal.
- Of or pertaining to office or the performance of the duties of an office: as, official duty; official cares or responsibility.
- Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority; hence, authorized: as, an official statement or report.
- Performing duties or offices; rendering useful service; ministering.
- noun One who is invested with an office of a public nature; one holding a civil appointment: as, a government official; a railway official.
- noun In English ecclesiastical law, a person appointed as judge by a bishop, chapter, or archdeacon, to hear causes in the ecclesiastical courts.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who holds an office; esp., a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
- noun An ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.
- adjective Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.
- adjective Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority.
- adjective (Pharm.) Approved by authority; sanctioned by the pharmacopœia; appointed to be used in medicine. Cf.
Officinal . - adjective obsolete Discharging an office or function.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.
- adjective Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority
- adjective Approved by authority;
authorized . - adjective sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine;
officinal - adjective Discharging an office or function.
- adjective Relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
- adjective Relating to an ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.
- noun An office holder invested with powers and authorities.
- noun A person responsible for applying the rules of a game or sport in a competition.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of a church) given official status as a national or state institution
- noun a worker who holds or is invested with an office
- adjective conforming to set usage, procedure, or discipline
- adjective of or relating to an office
- adjective having official authority or sanction
- adjective verified officially
- noun someone who administers the rules of a game or sport
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I think this has to do with the *official* position that a country takes vs. what individual people do and believe, often in violation of the official policies and laws.
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Each year, The Good Life expo honors a particular individual with the title official ambassador.
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During his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, President Barack Obama debuted what he described as his "official birth video" to his audience.
Obama 'Official Birth Video' Unveiled By President At White House Correspondents' Dinner (VIDEO) The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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Mr. Koch, who said he "loved" Cardinal O'Connor "as a brother," flew to Rome to attend the consistory ceremony that made the title official.
'Humbled' Dolan Is Named Cardinal Sophia Hollander 2012
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Quoting what it called an official source, the state news agency said "Syria already refuted what the U.S. administration claimed regarding the use of Iran or others to resolve internal issues, expressing surprise over the U.S. administration insistence to repeat these allegations."
Syrian Security Forces Fire on Mourners Nour Malas 2011
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During his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, President Barack Obama debuted what he described as his "official birth video" to his audience.
Obama 'Official Birth Video' Unveiled By President At White House Correspondents' Dinner (VIDEO) The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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He also made a film about 50 years of what he calls official contradictions and denials.
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He also made a film about 50 years of what he calls official contradictions and denials.
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I want to start with what I call the official dogma.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Do Markets Give Us Too Many Choices? 2007
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See, for instance, my earlier posts on what I refer to as the official history of the short story, as opposed to stuff which people might might actually want to read for fun.
The (UK) National Short Story Prize Michael Allen 2005
travismcdermott commented on the word official
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm. 1396) 25 Official membris is to seie: a fyngir, a ioynt, an hand, either a foot or othere lymes of office.
July 14, 2008