officious

adjective

of·fi·cious ə-ˈfi-shəs

Synonyms of officious next

: 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

If you’ve ever dreamed of having your financial officer officiate your office wedding—well, you’re officially alone there. But we won’t meddle in your business; if we suggested a more, um, “charming” location, we’d be sticking our nose where it doesn’t belong. We have our own offic word for such behavior: officious. As with some key words in your hypothetical dream wedding, officious comes from the Latin noun officium, meaning “service” or “office.” In its early use, officious meant “eager to serve, help, or perform a duty,” but that meaning is now obsolete, and the word today typically describes a person who offers unwanted advice or help. Since, again, we don’t want to be such a person, we definitely won’t suggest marrying at a banquet hall or botanical garden in lieu of the office, but we do applaud any consideration of that office-fave for your celebratory sweet, the humble sheet cake.

Choose the Right Synonym for officious

impertinent, officious, meddlesome, intrusive, obtrusive mean given to thrusting oneself into the affairs of others.

impertinent implies exceeding the bounds of propriety in showing interest or curiosity or in offering advice.

resented their impertinent interference

officious implies the offering of services or attentions that are unwelcome or annoying.

officious friends made the job harder

meddlesome stresses an annoying and usually prying interference in others' affairs.

a meddlesome landlord

intrusive implies a tactless or otherwise objectionable thrusting into others' affairs.

tried to be helpful without being intrusive

obtrusive stresses improper or offensive conspicuousness of interfering actions.

expressed an obtrusive concern for his safety

Examples of officious in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

There’s something officious about Alden Ehrenreich. —

Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Jan. 2023 Her charming luxury treasure trove has none of that officious chilliness that defines the typical store of its ilk but instead feels like a brocanterie crammed with interesting, unexpected luxury goods from across the world. —

Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 2 Jan. 2023 Most figures of authority, including police officers, the military, and disease control workers, typically appear officious, apathetic and lacking in empathy. —

Jeremy Hsu, Discover Magazine, 30 June 2015 Cronenberg, in turn, has maintained a cool contempt for officious pundits and their agendas. —

Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022 See all Example Sentences for officious