Definition

1. Noun:
   • An official of a bureaucracy: A bureaucrat is a person who works in an administrative capacity for a government department or other large organization, often seen as being overly concerned with procedural rules at the expense of efficiency or common sense.

Usage

• The term "bureaucrat" is used to refer to an official within a bureaucratic system. It often carries a neutral or slightly negative connotation, implying rigid adherence to rules and regulations.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The local bureaucrat refused to approve the permit without the proper form.
  • She worked for twenty years as a mid-level bureaucrat in the federal government.
  • The new policy was created by faceless bureaucrats in the capital.

Advanced Usage

• "Faceless bureaucrat": A common phrase used to criticize officials who are perceived as anonymous, unaccountable, and overly rigid.
  • Citizens were frustrated by the decisions of faceless bureaucrats.
• "Career bureaucrat": Refers to someone who has spent their professional life working within a bureaucratic system.
  • As a career bureaucrat, he knew all the intricacies of the regulatory process.

Variants and Related Words

• Bureaucracy (n): A system of government or business that has many complicated rules and ways of doing things.
  • Navigating the university's bureaucracy can be difficult.
• Bureaucratic (adj): Relating to a bureaucracy or bureaucrats, especially in being rigid and procedural.
  • The approval process was slow and bureaucratic.
• Bureaucratize (v): To govern or manage by or as if by bureaucrats; to make bureaucratic.
  • They feared the new system would bureaucratize the creative process.

Synonyms

• Official: A person holding public office or having official duties.
• Administrator: A person responsible for running a business, organization, etc.
• Functionary: Often used similarly to bureaucrat, emphasizing routine administrative duties.
• Civil servant: A more neutral term for a government official.

Antonyms

• Innovator: A person who introduces new methods, ideas, or products.
• Entrepreneur: A person who organizes and operates a business, taking on financial risk.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Red tape: Excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities, causing delay.
  • We encountered a lot of red tape when trying to start the business.
• To get lost in the bureaucracy: To have a request or process delayed or forgotten within a complex administrative system.
  • My application seems to have gotten lost in the bureaucracy.

Noun

1. an official of a bureaucracy