bureaucratic procedure
1
7.2
- noun
- /ˌbjʊəroʊˈkrætɪk prəˈsiːdʒər/
- Formal
:
procedimiento burocrático
- Many people find bureaucratic procedures to be unnecessarily time-consuming and complex.
Examples
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The project was delayed by a lengthy bureaucratic procedure that involved multiple approvals.
-
The bureaucratic procedure is so monumental that it will never amount to anything.
Academic text (1996) -
Comptroller reports have ended in important indictments and major changes in bureaucratic procedure.
Academic text (1996) -
Movement is increasingly restricted by checkpoints, new bureaucratic procedures, and the construction of the southern section of the separation barrier, which started in 2004.
Academic text (2009) -
For many smallholders, the required documentation, advance tax payments, multiple bureaucratic procedures, and constant revisions of the permit system became too expensive to endure.
Academic text (2002) -
It will not undertake development activities per se, but rather facilitate them through issuing visas and streamlining bureaucratic procedures.
Academic text (2010) -
Any bureaucratic procedures deemed absolutely necessary to the voting process should be provided to all citizens free of charge, processed quickly, available at the polling location on election day, and offering all reasonable services to aid applicants (such as translators, assistance for the physically and mentally disabled, extended hours, etc.).
Blog text (20) -
Cultural barriers, previous negative experiences, and discomfort with bureaucratic procedures deter the Hispanic elderly population's use of many formal service agencies (Sanchez-Ayendez, 1988).
Academic text (1993) -
Dealing with bureaucratic procedure can often be frustrating due to its complicated steps.
Synonyms
444
4.4
An official way of doing things in courts or formal meetings
55
3.8
Official rules and steps that are slow and make things difficult
Antonyms
How Complicated
- Formal
1
7.2
37
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: an adjective 'bureaucratic' (relating to complex administrative rules) modifying 'procedure' (an established formal process) yields the meaning of a formal process characterized by bureaucracy. The negative connotations of complexity and delay are already encoded in 'bureaucratic', so a B1 learner who knows both words can reliably infer the full meaning. This adjective+noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English composition.
Etymology
The phrase bureaucratic procedure paints a picture of papers moving from desk to desk, with clerks following strict bureaucratic rules and adding stamps at each procedure step. So it means an official process that is 'slow' and 'too complicated'.