official

Pluralofficials

1. 1
   authorizedadjective

   Coming from, or approved or authorized by, the proper authority or those in power.

   Fans were told to buy merchandise only from official sellers.

   The soda company became the official sponsor of this year's city marathon.

   UsageNot the same as officious, which describes someone too eager to give orders.

   Oppositeunofficial, unauthorized

2. 2
   person in chargenouncountable

   A person who holds a position of authority in a government, sport, or other organization.

   Government officials met to discuss the new budget.

   An official from the league explained the rule change.

   UsageCommon combinations include government officials, company officials and sports officials.

   Similarofficer, representative, administrator

   Note

   Sport gives it a specific meaning, since the referee and the linesmen are a game's officials. It can carry a sneer, too. George Orwell, in The Lion and the Unicorn (1941), mocked officials "with their prehensile bottoms", clinging to their seats. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The Lion and the Unicorn was written by George Orwell and first published in 1941. en.wikipedia.org
   • Orwell mocked officials using the exact words "with their prehensile bottoms". fadedpage.com
3. 3
   accepted versionadjective

   Recognized by authorities as the truth or canon, even when it is doubtful.

   The government's official version of events differed from eyewitness reports.

   Historians still dispute the official story of how the war began.

   UsageOften in the official story, the official version or the official account, hinting that it may not be true.

   Oppositeunofficial

   Note

   Here the word turns wry. An official cause of death or an official story is the version the authorities stand behind. Putting the word in front of it often hints that the reader should doubt it, as when testimonies point one way and the official account remains another. It grew from the "authorized" meaning, but the stress falls on who approved the claim, not on whether it is true.

4. 4
   of the officeadjective

   Relating to a public office or a position of public trust.

   She kept her official duties separate from her private life.

   The governor's official residence is open for public tours every spring.

   UsageOften before duties, residence or visit, and in on official business.

   Similarpublic, formal

   Oppositeunofficial, private, personal

   Note

   What is official in this sense belongs to the post rather than to the person who holds it. Official duties are the ones a role imposes, and their natural counterpart is private: the duties that come with the job, kept apart from the life lived outside it.

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