bureaucratic

adjective

bu·​reau·​crat·​ic ˌbyu̇r-ə-ˈkra-tik 

ˌbyər-

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a bureaucracy or a bureaucrat

bureaucratic government

a bureaucratic organization

bureaucratic procedures

bureaucratically

ˌbyu̇r-ə-ˈkra-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌbyər-

adverb

Examples of bureaucratic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ultimately, what creates a non-bureaucratic workplace is how employees see the boss leading by example, said Dimon. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026

Are there bureaucratic roadblocks to the immigration process? —Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026

What’s interesting about Victor’s story originally, and is very present in our story, is how, poverty, race and bureaucratic indifference, not illness, determines who gets locked away. —John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026

The couple has been embroiled in a bureaucratic battle to tear down the historic home ever since. —Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 27 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French bureaucratique, from bureaucrate bureaucrat or bureaucratie bureaucracy + -ique -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bureaucratic

• anti-bureaucratic

Rhymes for bureaucratic

• adiabatic
• aristocratic
• asymptomatic
• axiomatic
• diagrammatic
• diaphragmatic
• electrostatic
• endolymphatic
• epigrammatic
• homeostatic
• idiomatic
• magnetostatic

Kids Definition

bureaucratic

adjective

bu·​reau·​crat·​ic ˌbyu̇r-ə-ˈkrat-ik 

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a bureaucracy or bureaucrat

bureaucratically

-ˈkrat-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb