INDEX:
1. official
2. to make something official
3. not official
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ LEGAL
↑ GOVERNMENT
↑ RULE/REGULATION
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1. official
▷ official /əˈfɪʃ ə l/ [adjective usually before noun]
▪ What’s the government’s official policy on drugs education in schools?
▪ You have to get official permission for building in a conservation area.
official report/document/data etc
▪ Most of the official records of the case were destroyed in a fire in 1965.
official procedure/guidelines/process etc
▪ The official procedure for obtaining a visa can turn into a bureaucratic nightmare.
official visit/duties/engagement etc
officially organized by a government etc
▪ The newspaper claims she spent over £50,000 on an official trip to Australia.
official explanation/line/reason etc
▪ The official explanation for the man’s death was suicide.
officially [adverb]
▪ In July 2001 it was officially announced that the factory was to close.
▪ Plans for the new shopping mall are yet to be officially approved.
▪ The need for greater protection for wildlife habitats is not always officially recognized.
▷ formal /ˈfɔːʳm ə l/ [adjective]
done officially and publicly, according to established rules and processes :
▪ A formal agreement between the two countries was signed in 1999.
▪ Fifteen formal complaints have been made about the hospital in the past year.
▪ Her lawyers have made a formal request that she be allowed to stay in the country until her husband’s trial.
formally [adverb]
▪ A man has been arrested, but has not yet been formally charged.
▪ The policy was formally abandoned by the government last year.
▪ The regime is not formally recognized by the UN.
▷ authorized also authorised British /ˈɔːθəraɪzd/ [adjective]
officially approved, or having official permission from a government or other organization :
▪ Check that you have the authorized version of the software.
▪ We will send round one of our authorized representatives to discuss the purchase with you.
▪ Access is only given to authorized personnel.
▷ on (the) record /ɒn (ðə) ˈrekɔːdǁ-ərd/ [adverb]
if a politician, government official etc says something on (the) record, they say it publicly and officially :
▪ Mr Senator, will you now confirm on the record that none of these rumors are true?
be on record as saying/stating etc
▪ She’s on record as saying that she would resign if the vote went against her.
go on (the) record
agree to say something officially
▪ Privately, many MPs are critical of the policy, but none is willing to go on the record.
2. to make something official
▷ formalize also formalise British /ˈfɔːʳməlaɪz/ [transitive verb]
to make something such as a plan, process, or agreement official, for example by signing a formal contract :
▪ The new law is intended to further formalize the process of adopting children from overseas.
▪ a charter to formalize patients’ rights in public health services
▪ Most measures to formalize wage negotiations have so far been very successful.
3. not official
▷ unofficial /ˌʌnəˈfɪʃ ə l◂/ [adjective]
not done according to official rules or processes, or not officially approved by a government or other organization :
▪ She seems to have become the unofficial spokesman for the group.
▪ The Prime Minister discussed the matter with his German counterpart on an unofficial visit to his home last month.
▪ Unofficial sources say that over 100 people were shot dead in the rioting.
unofficially [adverb]
▪ The cost of the project is unofficially said to be around $2.5m.
▪ Though the organization is now banned, its members still meet unofficially in each others’ houses.
▷ informal /ɪnˈfɔːʳm ə l/ [adjective]
informal discussions, agreements, offers etc are not official and have not been officially approved :
▪ The two companies have an informal arrangement to share each other’s sports and leisure facilities.
▪ The report was based on informal discussions with women MPs and their families.
▪ I was offered the job after an informal interview in the staff canteen.
informally [adverb]
▪ Until recently, holiday entitlement was informally agreed between individuals and their employer.
▪ The group meets informally each month to discuss the progress of new students.
▷ off the record /ˌɒf ðə ˈrekɔːdǁ-ərd/ [adverb]
if someone tells you something off the record, they are not giving you the official opinion of their organization and do not want what they say to be made public :
▪ Strictly off the record, my feeling is that we are going to lose the election.
▪ Off the record, police officers are saying they are more and more unwilling to arrest those found in possession of small amounts of cannabis.
off-the-record [adjective]
▪ The party leader has appealed to her colleagues to end their damaging off-the-record remarks to the media.