🚫 Not approved 🧑‍💼 Unofficial person

non-official

5.9

A person who has no formal power to make decisions

noun
/nɑnəˈfɪʃəl/

: no oficial

The committee allowed a non-official to observe the proceedings but not to participate in the vote.

Examples

Only one non-official was present at the closed-door meeting to take notes.
Many non-officials attended the conference to share their views.
As a non-official, she could attend the conference but could not make any decisions.
He is a non-official representative at the meeting.
The committee allowed a non-official to observe the proceedings but not to participate in the vote.
As a non-official, she could attend the conference but could not make any decisions.
Only one non-official was present at the closed-door meeting to take notes.

Synonyms

private citizen

vsnon-official

39 3.2

A person who does not hold a government job or public office

is someone who acts in a situation without formal authority or appointment

How Official

official

∞ 2.3

representative

624 3.5

non-official

5.9

Surface Forms

non-official singular

non-officials plural

Morphology

non-official = official (transparent) = non + official

The meaning is directly built from 'non-' plus 'official', indicating something or someone without official status or authority.

Etymology

Non-official can also mean a person who is present or acts without formal authority, because non- means 'not' and official means 'having formal approval'. So a non-official is someone who may watch or give advice but is not officially chosen to decide.