A bureaucracy is an administrative system operated by a large number of officials.
State bureaucracies can tend to stifle enterprise and initiative.
Synonyms: government, officials, authorities, administration More Synonyms of bureaucracy
2. uncountable noun
Bureaucracy refers to all the rules and procedures followed by government departments and similar organizations, especially when you think that these are complicated and cause long delays.
[disapproval]
People usually complain about having to deal with too much bureaucracy.
Synonyms: red tape, regulations, paperwork, officialdom More Synonyms of bureaucracy
bureaucracy in British English
(bjʊəˈrɒkrəsɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-cies
1.
a system of administration based upon organization into bureaus, division of labour, a hierarchy of authority, etc: designed to dispose of a large body of work in a routine manner
2.
government by such a system
3.
government or other officials collectively
4.
any administration in which action is impeded by unnecessary official procedures and red tape
bureaucracy in American English
(bjʊˈrɑkrəsi; bjuˈrɑkrəsi)
nounWord forms: pluralbuˈreaucracies
1.
the administration of government through departments and subdivisions managed by sets of appointed officials following an inflexible routine
2.
the officials collectively
3.
governmental officialism or inflexible routine
see also red tape
4.
the concentration of authority in a complex structure of administrative bureaus
Word origin
Fr bureaucratie < bureau + -cratie, -cracy
Examples of 'bureaucracy' in a sentence
bureaucracy
We pay enough for government bureaucracy already.
The Sun (2013)
But they can also suffer from bureaucracy and stifling hierarchy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The clear downside is the extra administration and bureaucracy these reforms will bring.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
She has a good grasp of how the bureaucracy works.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The changes were supposed to reduce bureaucracy but the opposite has happened.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is too much bureaucracy and red tape at the moment.
The Sun (2010)
They felt government bureaucracy had vanquished the muses.
Susie Gilbert and Jay Shir A TALE OF FOUR HOUSES: Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met since1945 (2003)
It also promises to reduce bureaucracy further.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The system is riddled with bureaucracy and red tape.
The Sun (2013)
The voters who are most bitter about government bureaucracy vote for more government programs.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
Any government attempt to save money and reduce bureaucracy deserves applause.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The figures suggest that sweeping reforms to a system riddled with bureaucracy and inertia are beginning to bear fruit.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Once again, all the failings of local bureaucracy are perfectly observed.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We are trying to work through the bureaucracy in Washington.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
A snapshot of the local bureaucracy suggests that there may be better ways of spending the money.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Set up ten years ago to boost regional economies, they are seen as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and expense.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The answer has to be a system that is accountable to the people it serves, not to the political establishment and a centralised bureaucracy.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Both parties talk about improving discipline and freeing schools from unnecessary bureaucracy, though neither has said how they are going to deliver these goals.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Patients are at the mercy of a fragmented health system obsessed with bureaucracy rather than with the needs of the people it serves, charities say.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But the result was an astronomical increase in bureaucracy and administration costs, leading to double-digit healthcare inflation.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Word lists with
bureaucracy
government
In other languages
bureaucracy
British English: bureaucracy /bjʊəˈrɒkrəsɪ/ NOUN
A bureaucracy is an administrative system operated by a large number of officials.
State bureaucracies can tend to stifle enterprise and initiative.
American English: bureaucracy
Arabic: بيروقْراطِيَّة
Brazilian Portuguese: burocracia
Chinese: 官僚
Croatian: birokracija
Czech: byrokracie
Danish: bureaukrati
Dutch: bureaucratie
European Spanish: burocracia
Finnish: byrokratia
French: bureaucratie
German: Bürokratie
Greek: γραφειοκρατία
Italian: burocrazia
Japanese: 官僚主義
Korean: 관료주의
Norwegian: byråkrati
Polish: biurokracja
European Portuguese: burocracia
Romanian: birocrație
Russian: бюрократия
Latin American Spanish: burocracia
Swedish: byråkrati
Thai: ระบบบริหารที่มีพิธีรีตรอง
Turkish: bürokrasi
Ukrainian: бюрократія
Vietnamese: bộ máy công chức
Chinese translation of 'bureaucracy'
bureaucracy
(bjuəˈrɔkrəsɪ)
n(c)
(usually pej) 官僚作风(風) (guānliáo zuòfēng)
(= system) 官僚体(體)系 (guānliáo tǐxì)
1 (noun)
Definition
government officials collectively
State bureaucracies tend to stifle enterprise and initiative.
Synonyms
government
The Government has insisted that confidence is needed before the economy can improve.
officials
authorities
administration
He served in posts in both the Ford and Carter administrations.
ministry
He disclosed that his ministry gave funds to parties in Namibia.
the system
civil service
directorate
officialdom
corridors of power
2 (noun)
Definition
any administration in which action is impeded by unnecessary official procedures
People complain about having to deal with too much bureaucracy.
Synonyms
red tape
They are hamstrung to red tape.
regulations
paperwork
officialdom
officialese
bumbledom
Additional synonyms
in the sense of administration
Definition
a government
He served in posts in both the Ford and Carter administrations.
Synonyms
government,
authority,
executive,
leadership,
ministry,
regime,
governing body
in the sense of ministry
Definition
ministers considered as a group
He disclosed that his ministry gave funds to parties in Namibia.