All 4 Uses of
officious
in
Pride and Prejudice
- His ease and cheerfulness rendered him a most agreeable addition to their evening party; and he bore with the ill-judged officiousness of the mother, and heard all her silly remarks with a forbearance and command of countenance particularly grateful to the daughter.†
p. 326.8officiousness = the qualify of being too eager to tell others what to do
- You are rather disposed to call his interference officious?†
p. 181.7 *
- Elizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention!†
p. 318.8
- The fact is, that you were sick of civility, of deference, of officious attention.†
p. 359.6
Definitions:
-
(1)
(officious) too eager to tell others what to do -- often regarding unimportant matters
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much less commonly, officious can mean informal or unofficial as in "officious conversation between assistants." Even less commonly, it can be used in classic literature to refer to a desire to help others.