officious

/ə'fiʃəs/

Thân thiện

The hotel manager made an officious fuss over the placement of the napkins.

Definition

Adjective: 1. Excessively eager in offering unwanted or unnecessary advice, help, or services; intrusively meddlesome. This describes a person who interferes in matters that are not their concern, often in a self-important or bossy manner. 2. (Diplomatic, dated) Informal; unofficial. This sense refers to actions or communications, especially in diplomacy, that are undertaken without formal authority.

Usage and Examples

• The officious waiter insisted on rearranging our plates and glasses, even though we were perfectly happy with their placement.
• She has an officious neighbor who is always commenting on her gardening choices and offering unsolicited advice.
• (Diplomatic context) The ambassador made an officious inquiry to gauge the other government's reaction before formal negotiations began.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• The term carries a strong negative connotation of annoying and unwelcome intrusion. It implies the person is acting beyond their proper role or authority.
• It is often used to describe behavior that is fussy, overbearing, and self-importantly busy.
• The diplomatic usage is now rare and specialized. In modern general use, the word almost exclusively conveys the meaning of being meddlesome.

Variants and Related Words

• Officiously (adverb): In an officious manner.
  • He officiously took charge of the event without being asked.
• Officiousness (noun): The quality of being officious.
  • Her constant officiousness drove her colleagues to distraction.

Synonyms

• Meddlesome
• Intrusive
• Interfering
• Overbearing
• Busybody
• Meddling
• Bossy

Antonyms

• Unobtrusive
• Discreet
• Reserved
• Tactful

Idioms and Phrases

• To make an officious nuisance of oneself: To behave in such a persistently meddling way that one becomes annoying or troublesome.
  • By constantly correcting everyone's work, he made an officious nuisance of himself in the office.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner
   • an interfering old woman
   • bustling about self-importantly making an officious nuisance of himself
   • busy about other people's business

Từ đồng nghĩa

• interfering
• meddlesome
• meddling
• busy
• busybodied