bureaucracy Definition

bureaucracy
noun bureaucracies

1. A system of government by officials who are responsible to their department heads and are not elected.

Thesaurus: administration, government, officialdom, the system, the power structure, apparatus, apparat.
2. These officials as a group, especially when regarded as oppressive.
3. Any system of administration in which matters are complicated by complex procedures and trivial rules.

Thesaurus: red tape, routine, regulations, officialism.
4. A country governed by officials.

Etymology: 19c: bureau + -cracy.