How do you pronounce officious?

The recorded pronunciation is /əˈfɪʃəs/.

Where does officious come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

officious

/əˈfɪʃəs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.08 in modern English

Syllables: of-fi-cious
IPA: /əˈfɪʃəs/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Obliging, attentive, eager to please.

Obsolete

adj

Offensively intrusive or interfering in offering advice and services.

Example Sentences

"Elizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention!"
"‘It is essential that the nation become accustomed to managing its own affairs, so that it will emerge from this state of infancy in which an anxious and officious government attempts to keep the people’."
"The help tended to be officious, the rules, if heeded, restrictive, and the management meddlesome."

Etymology

15th century, from Middle English offycyous, from Latin officiōsus (“kindly”), from officium (“service”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₃ep-, offycyous, officiōsus

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /əˈfɪʃəs/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

more officious (comparative) most officious (superlative)

Derived Forms

inofficious officiously officiousness overofficious superofficious ultraofficious unofficious

Phrases

officious intermeddler

Synonyms

interfering meddlesome meddling busy busybodied

Rhymes With

delicious suspicious ambitious vicious fictitious nutritious superstitious auspicious pernicious capricious judicious surreptitious