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bureaucracy

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From bureau +‎ -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bureaucracy (countable and uncountable, plural bureaucracies)

  1. Government by bureaus or their administrators or officers.
    • 2021 December 29, Philip Haigh, “Rail's role in unifying Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, in RAIL, number 947, page 25:
      However, when Britain left the European Union, ferries started to ply a direct sea link from Ireland, to save hauliers from custom's bureaucracy of driving via Britain.
  2. (business, organizational theory) A system of administration based upon organisation into bureaus, division of labour, a hierarchy of authority, etc., designed to dispose of a large body of work in a routine manner.
    At that time the administration replaced the system of patronage in the civil service with a bureaucracy.
    • 2024 November 18, Stephen Collinson, “Trump doubles down on provocative Cabinet picks as their fates hang in the balance”, in CNN‎[1]:
      Each of the most provocative selections is facing criticism that they lack the expertise and experience to run the vast, specialized bureaucracies that would be under their control.
  3. The body of officers and administrators, especially of a government.
    The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy. (apocryphal quip)
  4. (chiefly derogatory) Excessive red tape and routine in any administration, body or behaviour.
    The head of the civil service promised to clamp down on bureaucracy.
    • 2020 May 20, Andrew Haines talks to Stefanie Foster, “Repurpose rail for the 2020s”, in Rail, page 35:
      "If we can capture anything from this awful situation, it is that ability to trust people to do certain things for themselves and to look out for each other, and to give them the tools to do their job as well as they can without having to go through endless bureaucracy to achieve it, which very often just delays and dilutes and doesn't add much value.
    • 2025 February 14, Marshall Cohen, “The almighty Musk: How the world’s richest man became Washington’s most powerful bureaucrat”, in CNN‎[2]:
      “If you have rule of the bureaucrat — if the bureaucracy is in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?” Musk said during his 30-minute appearance with Trump, where he rebuffed critics who said he’s the one undermining democratic institutions.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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body of officers
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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Further reading

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