Basic Details
Word: Officious
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Too eager to tell other people what to do or to use small powers, in a way that annoys them.
Synonyms: bossy, interfering, meddlesome, self-important
Antonyms: humble, easy-going
How to Spell Officious
Syllables: of - fi - cious
Tricky part: The 'shus' sound at the end is spelt cious. There are two f's and one c.
Watch out for: oficious, offishious, officous
Memory tip: Drop the e of office and add ious: offic + ious. An officious clerk acts as if he owns the whole office.
Usage Examples
Example 1: An officious clerk made us fill in the same form three times.
Example 2: The officious monitor wrote down the name of anyone who even whispered.
Example 3: Nobody likes an officious neighbour who checks your parking every day.
Fun Fact
In the 1500s officious had a kind meaning, 'eager to help or do one's duty'; the annoying, bossy sense came later.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word officious as used in the sentence:
The officious guard insisted on checking our tickets three times before we entered the museum.
a) generous
b) easy-going
c) careless
d) meddlesome
Show answer
d) meddlesome. Checking tickets again and again is meddlesome behaviour, the sense officious carries here.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
o_fi_ious
a) f, c
b) f, t
c) f, s
d) s, c
Show answer
a) f, c. Office gives both the double f and the c that comes before ious.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. preposterus 2. arrogent 3. officious 4. courtious
a) behaving as if better than others
b) polite and respectful
c) too eager to give orders or interfere
d) very silly or unreasonable
Show answer
c) too eager to give orders or interfere. Arrogant ends in ant, preposterous in ous, and courteous has an e before ous.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is officious behaviour?
a) saying thank you
b) helping quietly
c) sitting silently
d) bossing others about
Show answer
d) bossing others about
2. Which word is officious most often confused with?
a) official
b) ocean
c) orchestra
d) onion
Show answer
a) official
