rhizoverbBeta
DictionarybureaucraticOfficial administration
adjective

bureaucratic

byoor-uh-KRAT-ik/ˌbjʊrəˈkrætɪk/

Relating to official administration, often marked by rigid rules and slow procedures.

The permit stalls in a maze of bureaucratic procedures.

At an official service counter, an applicant faces a cumbersome packet of forms while a clerk requires another form before stamping the application.
Etymology
bureauFrenchoffice, desk
+craticGreekrule, power

An office or desk combined with ‘rule’ gives the image of government by offices. The adjective reflects the associated criticism of officialdom as inflexible and burdened with administrative procedures.

In context

Harvard Kennedy School16:30
complex regulatory procedures often favor big firms with huge compliance budgets and massive legal teams to navigate the bureaucratic maze
Lina Khan Speaks About Anti-Trust to the Harvard Kennedy School

More examples

  • The agency simplified its bureaucratic rules.
  • She studies the bureaucratic structure of local government.
  • A bureaucratic delay kept the clinic from opening on time.

Forms

bureaucratic

Similar words

administrative
Relates to management without necessarily implying rigid or slow procedures.