bureaucracy

US /bjʊˈɹɑ.kɹə.si/ UK /bjʊəˈɹɒk.ɹə.si/ See IPA manual

Freq #18457

Meanings

1

noun
A system of government or management run through many departments and strict official rules.

Reforming the country's bureaucracy will take years.
2

noun
Complicated official rules and procedures that seem unnecessary and waste time.

Getting a permit involved endless bureaucracy and paperwork.
3

noun
The officials who run a government or large organization.

The new policy faced resistance from the bureaucracy.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms bureaucracies

Derived forms antibureaucracybureaucratbureaucratesebureaucratic bureaucraticallybureaucratizebureaucrazybureaupathologyeurocracytechnobureaucracy

Related forms adhocracy

Etymology

From bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).

Topics

Abstract Ideas

External links

# bureaucracy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bjʊˈɹɑ.kɹə.si/
**IPA (UK):** /bjʊəˈɹɒk.ɹə.si/
**Frequency rank:** 18457

## Meanings
1. A system of government or management run through many departments and strict official rules.
2. Complicated official rules and procedures that seem unnecessary and waste time.
3. The officials who run a government or large organization.

## Examples
- Reforming the country's bureaucracy will take years.
- Getting a permit involved endless bureaucracy and paperwork.
- The new policy faced resistance from the bureaucracy.

## Derived Forms
- antibureaucracy
- bureaucrat
- bureaucratese
- bureaucratic
- bureaucratically
- bureaucratize
- bureaucrazy
- bureaupathology
- eurocracy
- technobureaucracy

## Related Forms
- adhocracy

## Roots and Affixes
- Affix: -cracy - rule

## Etymology
From bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).

## AI Etymology
Bureaucracy comes from bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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