Link Centre Dictionary

authority

aut·ho·rity

UK/ɔːˈθɒɹəti/ US/ɔːˈθɒɹɪti/ common

noun

1.

the power or right to give orders or make decisions

  • “he has the authority to issue warrants”
  • “deputies are given authorization to make arrests”
  • “a place of potency in the state”
Synonyms
2.

(usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others

  • “the authorities have issued a curfew”
3.

an expert whose views are taken as definitive

  • “he is an authority on corporate law”
4.

freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities

  • “his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular”
  • “after that failure he lost his confidence”
  • “she spoke with authority”
Synonyms
5.

an administrative unit of government

  • “the Central Intelligence Agency”
  • “the Census Bureau”
  • “Office of Management and Budget”
  • “Tennessee Valley Authority”
Synonyms
6.

official permission or approval

  • “authority for the program was renewed several times”
Synonyms
7.

an authoritative written work

  • “this book is the final authority on the life of Milton”

Origin

From Middle English auctorite, autorite (“authority, book or quotation that settles an argument”), from Old French auctorité, from Latin stem of auctōritās (“invention, advice, opinion, influence, command”), from auctor (“master, leader, author”).

Phrases

  • aileron authority
  • appeal to authority
  • authority control
  • authority figure
  • authority issues
  • certificate authority
  • color of authority
  • combined authority

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.