Bureaucratic

How to spell bureaucratic

12 letters · 4 syllables

The most common mistake is beaurocratic. The letters people get wrong are highlighted.

beaurocratic bureaucratic

What people typed instead

• beaurocratic4 people
• beauracratic3 people

How to pronounce bureaucratic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bureaucratic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to or characterised by complex administrative procedures, official rules, and excessive paperwork.

Bureaucratic in a sentence

• The visa application was delayed by bureaucratic red tape.

• Renewing the licence involved a frustratingly bureaucratic process.

Where does bureaucratic come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the French bureau, which originally meant the coarse woollen cloth (baize) used to cover writing desks, and then came to mean the desk itself and finally the office where officials worked. In the mid eighteenth century French writers combined bureau with the Greek element kratia, meaning 'rule' or 'power' (the same element seen in 'democracy' and 'aristocracy'), to coin bureaucratie, literally 'rule by the office'. The term carried a faintly mocking tone from the start, suggesting government by desk-bound officials rather than by the people. English borrowed the noun 'bureaucracy' and the adjective 'bureaucratic' in the early nineteenth century, keeping the unusual French 'eau' spelling intact. That preserved 'eau' cluster, pronounced as a simple 'yoor' sound, is exactly what makes the word a spelling trap, since nothing in the sound hints at the vowels you must write.

How the word is built

• bureau (office, desk)
• -crat (from Greek kratos: power, rule)
• -ic (adjective suffix)