1
Core meaning
An official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
Example
A senior bureaucrat approved the revised licence.
bureaucrat
/ˈbjʊərəkræt/ · BYOOR-uh-kratnoun
An official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
Use bureaucrat to express this relationship precisely: an official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
What bureaucrat Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
The novel portrays the bureaucrat as devoted to procedure.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
Experienced bureaucrats helped implement the reform.
Use bureaucrat Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
A senior bureaucrat approved the revised licence.
The novel portrays the bureaucrat as devoted to procedure.
Experienced bureaucrats helped implement the reform.
Precision Matters
Bureaucrat overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
bureaucrat
vs.Means an official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
aristocrat
Means a member of a hereditary, wealthy, or socially privileged ruling class.
bureaucrat
vs.Means an official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
curator
Means a person responsible for selecting, organizing, researching, and caring for a museum or collection.
bureaucrat
vs.Means an official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
cartographer
Means a person who designs, draws, or produces maps.
bureaucrat
vs.Means an official working within a government or large administrative system, often associated with rules and procedure.
authoritarian
Means a person who favours or enforces strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.
Test bureaucrat in Context
The person is an administrative government official.
1
The permit required approval from a ministry ___ responsible for enforcing the regulations.