unofficial

unofficial — adjective

1. Describes information, reports, statements, or actions that have not been confir

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Describes information, reports, statements, or actions that have not been confirmed, approved, or issued by an official source such as a government, an employer, or a recognised organisation.

Example

The report from the finance ministry was unofficial and had not been reviewed.

predicative use: be + unofficial

Lan heard an unofficial announcement that the school would close early.

attributive use: unofficial + noun (announcement)

Common collocations
  • unofficial report
  • unofficial source
  • unofficial estimate
  • unofficial announcement
  • unofficial visit
  • unofficial strike
  • unofficial result
Synonyms
  • unauthorised

    Stronger suggestion that permission was not given, sometimes implying it was forbidden

  • off the record

    Informal phrase; said about information that should not be publicly attributed

  • informal

    Less about authority and more about relaxed rules or procedures; e.g. an informal meeting can still be official

Antonyms
  • official

    The direct opposite — confirmed or issued by an authority

Grammar Patterns

unofficial + noun

be + unofficial

Usage Note

Often used for news, reports, or decisions that are circulating before an official confirmation is made. The opposite is 'official'.

Common Mistakes

This is an unofficial document from the government.
This is an official document from the government.
If a document comes from the government itself, it is official, not unofficial.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Unofficial' describes information or actions that have not been confirmed or approved by an authority — the key idea is lack of official backing. 'Unauthorised' is stronger: it suggests that someone acted without permission, sometimes in violation of rules (e.g. 'an unauthorised protest'). 'Informal' focuses on relaxed or casual procedure rather than authority — an 'informal meeting' can still be official if the right people attend. 'Off the record' is an informal phrase for statements made with the understanding they will not be publicly attributed; a reporter might cite 'unofficial sources' but 'off the record' refers to the agreement, not the source's status.

unofficial ↗unauthorisedinformal ↗off the record ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • still unofficial
  • apparently unofficial
  • strictly unofficial

Phrases

  • on an unofficial basis
  • remain unofficial

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English by adding the prefix 'un-' (meaning 'not') to 'official', which came from Old French 'oficial' and Latin 'officiālis', meaning 'of or belonging to a duty or service'. The word has been used since the late 1500s to describe things that lack formal authority.