as in officer
a person who holds a public office
some of our best public officials do their jobs quietly and are never in the news
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as in authorized
ordered or allowed by those in authority
the official languages for those Olympic Games were French and English
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Recent Examples of official
Matt Rybaltowski, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Federal officials would not provide details about the patient’s symptoms, deferring all inquiries to Louisiana’s Department of Public Health.
Emails and calls to that agency went unanswered.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
Axios Portland, Axios, 18 Dec. 2024
Kobayashi’s disappearance was the second case in which a woman was reported missing by their families to the LAPD and their statements conflicted with the official police narrative.
—Shelby Grad, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for official 
Noun
At the height of operations, the Bowyer Gambling business contained at least 700 sports wagering clients, according to federal law enforcement officials, with many of the wagers transmitted offshore through a Costa Rican call center.
—Matt Rybaltowski, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Federal officials would not provide details about the patient’s symptoms, deferring all inquiries to Louisiana’s Department of Public Health.
Emails and calls to that agency went unanswered.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
The number of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River Basin to spawn remained flat over the last decade at an average of 2.3 million — above the dismal counts in the 1990s, but still below official goals of roughly 5 million fish.
—Axios Portland, Axios, 18 Dec. 2024
Kobayashi’s disappearance was the second case in which a woman was reported missing by their families to the LAPD and their statements conflicted with the official police narrative.
—Shelby Grad, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for official
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Cite this Entry
“Official.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/official. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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