officious

adjective

of·fi·cious ə-ˈfi-shəs How to pronounce officious (audio)

: volunteering one's services where they are neither asked nor needed : meddlesome

officious people who are always ready to offer unasked advice

: informal, unofficial

officious conversations between foreign ministers

archaic

: kind, obliging

: dutiful

officiously adverb

officiousness noun

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We Are Eager to Help You Define Officious

Don't mistake officious for a rare synonym of official. Both words stem from the Latin noun officium (meaning "service" or "office"), but they have very different meanings. When the suffix -osus ("full of") was added to officium, Latin officiosus came into being, meaning "eager to serve, help, or perform a duty." When this adjective was borrowed into English as officious in the 15th century it described dutiful people and their actions. That use shifted a bit semantically to describe those eager to help or serve. By the late 16th century, however, officious was beginning to develop a negative sense describing a person who offers unwanted help. This pejorative sense has driven out the original "dutiful" and "eager to help" senses to become the predominant meaning of the word in modern English. Officious can also mean "of an informal or unauthorized nature," but that sense is not common.

Example Sentences

an officious little man who was always telling everyone else how to do their jobs

Recent Examples on the Web Cronenberg, in turn, has maintained a cool contempt for officious pundits and their agendas.

Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022 As her avenging brother, Laertes, the tenor David Butt Philip is ardent; as her officious father, Polonius, the tenor William Burden avoids caricature.

New York Times, 15 May 2022 There's an officious young secretary, Ms. McCormack (Laurie Veldheer), to keep reminding him of that, but the thrust and parry of the fast-dancing dialogue is between Sam (huffy, preoccupied) and Karen (tizzying, agitated, eager to please).

Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2022 The soul of this community is local queen bee Sherry Conrad (Search Party alum Shalita Grant, the season’s MVP), an officious, controlling momfluencer with a knack for stealing the spotlight.

Judy Berman, Time, 17 Oct. 2021 At his side is the officious Bev Keane (a chilling Samantha Sloyan, from Hill House), the prototypical timeless, ageless, practically bloodless church lady, dressed like an overgrown Girl Scout and always judging, scolding, guilting.

Judy Berman, Time, 20 Sep. 2021 On their first day, the resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) recommends an isolated beach and arranges for the family to be driven there along with a few other tourists, including an officious doctor (Rufus Sewell) and his family.

BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2021 Many are proxies in the audience’s war with Matt, the kind of officious know-it-all whom people generally cross the street to avoid.

John Anderson, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2021 Nevarro’s cantina is now a school being run by a female protocol droid who sounds just as officious as C-3PO.

Lauren Morgan, EW.com, 20 Nov. 2020 See More

单词	officiousness
释义	officious adjective of·fi·cious ə-ˈfi-shəs 1 : volunteering one's services where they are neither asked nor needed : meddlesome officious people who are always ready to offer unasked advice 2 : informal, unofficial officious conversations between foreign ministers 3 archaic a : kind, obliging b : dutiful officiously adverb officiousness noun Did you know? We Are Eager to Help You Define Officious Don't mistake officious for a rare synonym of official. Both words stem from the Latin noun officium (meaning "service" or "office"), but they have very different meanings. When the suffix -osus ("full of") was added to officium, Latin officiosus came into being, meaning "eager to serve, help, or perform a duty." When this adjective was borrowed into English as officious in the 15th century it described dutiful people and their actions. That use shifted a bit semantically to describe those eager to help or serve. By the late 16th century, however, officious was beginning to develop a negative sense describing a person who offers unwanted help. This pejorative sense has driven out the original "dutiful" and "eager to help" senses to become the predominant meaning of the word in modern English. Officious can also mean "of an informal or unauthorized nature," but that sense is not common. Synonyms busy interfering intruding intrusive meddlesome meddling nosy nosey obtrusive presuming presumptuous protrusive prying pushing pushy snoopy See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences an officious little man who was always telling everyone else how to do their jobs Recent Examples on the Web Cronenberg, in turn, has maintained a cool contempt for officious pundits and their agendas. Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022 As her avenging brother, Laertes, the tenor David Butt Philip is ardent; as her officious father, Polonius, the tenor William Burden avoids caricature. New York Times, 15 May 2022 There's an officious young secretary, Ms. McCormack (Laurie Veldheer), to keep reminding him of that, but the thrust and parry of the fast-dancing dialogue is between Sam (huffy, preoccupied) and Karen (tizzying, agitated, eager to please). Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2022 The soul of this community is local queen bee Sherry Conrad (Search Party alum Shalita Grant, the season’s MVP), an officious, controlling momfluencer with a knack for stealing the spotlight. Judy Berman, Time, 17 Oct. 2021 At his side is the officious Bev Keane (a chilling Samantha Sloyan, from Hill House), the prototypical timeless, ageless, practically bloodless church lady, dressed like an overgrown Girl Scout and always judging, scolding, guilting. Judy Berman, Time, 20 Sep. 2021 On their first day, the resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) recommends an isolated beach and arranges for the family to be driven there along with a few other tourists, including an officious doctor (Rufus Sewell) and his family. BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2021 Many are proxies in the audience’s war with Matt, the kind of officious know-it-all whom people generally cross the street to avoid. John Anderson, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2021 Nevarro’s cantina is now a school being run by a female protocol droid who sounds just as officious as C-3PO. Lauren Morgan, EW.com, 20 Nov. 2020 See More Word History Etymology Latin officiosus, from officium service, office First Known Use 15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3b officiousness noun as in intrusiveness Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance intrusiveness interference obtrusiveness questioning prying interrogation attentiveness meddlesomeness inquiry eavesdropping nosiness inquisitiveness concern rubbernecking wonderment interest curiousness regard curiosity Antonyms & Near Antonyms indifference disregard incuriosity unconcern apathy disinterestedness incuriousness See More
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officious

adjective

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Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

noun