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bureaucratic

/bjərəˈkræɾɪk/
/bjərəˈkrætɪk/
IPA guide

Anything bureaucratic has to do with the business of running an organization — usually not in a very efficient manner.

If there are bureaucrats or a bureaucracy involved, go ahead and call it bureaucratic. This adjective is used in a negative sense to describe a person or organization more concerned with following procedures than being guided by common sense. Bureaucratic things usually involve loads of paperwork and nonsensical rules, otherwise known as "red tape" — a connection that originated in the 17th century when official documents were bound together with actual red tape.

Definitions of bureaucratic
  1. adjective
    of or relating to or resembling a bureaucrat or bureaucracy
    “his bureaucratic behavior annoyed his colleagues”
    “a bureaucratic nightmare”
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