officialism
(əˈfɪʃəlɪz(ə)m)
[f. official + -ism.]
The mode of action characteristic of officials; perfunctory and literal discharge of the duties of office; official system or routine; officials collectively or in the abstract. (Often in derogatory sense = red tape, red tapeism.)
| 1857 Smiles Stephenson (1859) 233 Their greatest national enterprises have not been planned by officialism. 1873 H. Spencer Stud. Sociol. (1882) 170 The unwisdom of officialism is daily illustrated. 1886 J. Martineau Ch. Eng. in Contemp. Rev. L. 15 There is necessarily an indefinite amount of unreality and officialism in worship, i.e. of worship simulated by mechanical imitation. 1895 Times 7 Jan. 4/1 What was lacking..was a little common-sense to help officialism at headquarters to grasp the practical situation. |