as in busy
thrusting oneself where one is not welcome or invited
an officious little man who was always telling everyone else how to do their jobs
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of officious
Cronenberg, in turn, has maintained a cool contempt for officious pundits and their agendas.
—
Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022
As her avenging brother, Laertes, the tenor David Butt Philip is ardent; as her officious father, Polonius, the tenor William Burden avoids caricature.
—New York Times, 15 May 2022
The soul of this community is local queen bee Sherry Conrad (Search Party alum Shalita Grant, the season’s MVP), an officious, controlling momfluencer with a knack for stealing the spotlight.
—Judy Berman, Time, 17 Oct. 2021
On their first day, the resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) recommends an isolated beach and arranges for the family to be driven there along with a few other tourists, including an officious doctor (Rufus Sewell) and his family.
—BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for officious
Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022
As her avenging brother, Laertes, the tenor David Butt Philip is ardent; as her officious father, Polonius, the tenor William Burden avoids caricature.
—New York Times, 15 May 2022
The soul of this community is local queen bee Sherry Conrad (Search Party alum Shalita Grant, the season’s MVP), an officious, controlling momfluencer with a knack for stealing the spotlight.
—Judy Berman, Time, 17 Oct. 2021
On their first day, the resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) recommends an isolated beach and arranges for the family to be driven there along with a few other tourists, including an officious doctor (Rufus Sewell) and his family.
—BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for officious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for officious
Adjective
-
Lately, Chalamet has been busy moving beyond movie promotion and hitting the Oscars campaign trail following his best actor nomination for Marty Supreme.—
Christi Carras,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
-
This can be a place of refuge after a busy day of new experiences or from the bustling pool deck.—
Megan duBois,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Only now are the drones fast enough to keep up with the quickest athletes in the world and small enough to be non-intrusive.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Newer versions of Claude can vaguely perceive an intrusive presence.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The fact is, in a newsroom full of meddlesome, sometimes pushy people, Beverly was none of that.—
Brad Schmitt,
Nashville Tennessean,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The special ops unit chases every lead possible, from bribes to Mexican drug cartels, a meddlesome L.A. District Attorney (Merrick McCartha) and corruption in the government of Belarus.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
One setback of leather sofas can be their visual weight—a design term tossed around to describe how large pieces can feel overwhelming or obtrusive without the right styling.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
10 Jan. 2026
-
There’s a fine line between obtrusive service, with servers buzzing like flies around the table, and inattentive service.—
Rachel Bernhard,
jsonline.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
So now James is out here knowing that Siegfried was right, which is annoying.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The Kelce/Swifty thing got très annoying but Mahomes was a married guy with a few kids.—
Linda Perillo,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Officious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/officious. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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