officious
Definitions
Aggressively eager to give unwanted advice or assert petty authority; meddlesome
多管闲事的，爱指手画脚的
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin officiosus, 'eager to serve, dutiful' (officium = op- 'work' + fac 'do'). The sense soured: 'too eager to serve' became 'meddling, throwing your weight around.'
Root fac still carries 273 more wordsWhy It Means This
A textbook 'false friend.' Officious is NOT 'official' — it describes an annoying eagerness, the petty clerk who insists on enforcing every tiny rule. The once-positive 'dutiful' shifted into a put-down.
Common Collocations
- 1.officious person爱多管闲事的人
- 2.officious attitude多管闲事的态度
Example Sentences
- 1.
An officious clerk refused to bend the rules even slightly.
- 2.
She found his officious advice exhausting.
Easily Confused
officious vs official — They look like twins but aren't. official = formally authorized (an official statement). officious = annoyingly bossy and meddlesome. An official can be officious, but the words mean very different things.