authority
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (7)authorities
- 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: authorizationauthorisationpotencydominancesay-soType of controlKinds command, imperium, power of appointment, muscle, sovereignty, carte blanche, lordship
- (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others“the authorities have issued a curfew”Type of actor, doerKinds civil authority, upbraider, allocator, mandator, pasha, authorizer, authority figure, approver, withdrawer, abrogator
- an expert whose views are taken as definitive“he is an authority on corporate law”Type of expertKinds adviser, evaluator, connoisseur, master, high priest, liturgist
- 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: assuranceself-assuranceconfidenceself-confidencesurenessType of certaintyAttribute of certain, uncertain
- an administrative unit of government“the Central Intelligence Agency”“the Census Bureau”“Office of Management and Budget”“Tennessee Valley Authority”Synonyms: agencyfederal agencygovernment agencybureauofficeType of administrative unit, administrative bodyKinds United States Navy, National Park Service, organ, Federal Housing Administration, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Border Patrol, Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, Foreign Service, Bureau of Engraving and Printing +55 moreExamples United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory, United States Naval Research Laboratory, Army High Performance Computing Research Center
- official permission or approval“authority for the program was renewed several times”Synonyms: authorizationauthorisationsanctionType of permission
- an authoritative written work“this book is the final authority on the life of Milton”
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Noun power to enforce rules or give orders
- Spanish
- autoridad
- French
- autorité
- German
- Autorität
- Italian
- autorità
- Portuguese
- autoridade
- Turkish
- otorite
- Russian
- власть vlastʹ
- Arabic
- سُلْطَة sulṭa
- Chinese
- 权力 quánlì
- Japanese
- 権威 ken'i
26 more languages
- Dutch
- gezag
- Polish
- autorytet
- Swedish
- auktoritet
- Greek
- εξουσία exousía
- Korean
- 권력 gwollyeok
- Indonesian
- otoritas
- Vietnamese
- quyền lực
- Hungarian
- tekintély
- Portuguese (PT)
- autoridade
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 權威 quánwēi
- Albanian
- autoritet
- Catalan
- autoritat
- Czech
- autorita
- Danish
- myndighed
- Esperanto
- aŭtoritato
- Estonian
- võim
- Finnish
- auktoriteetti
- Georgian
- ძალაუფლება ʒalaupleba
- Hebrew
- סַמְכוּת samkhút
- Icelandic
- yfirvald
- Norwegian
- autoritet
- Romanian
- autoritate
- Scottish Gaelic
- ùghdarras
- Serbo-Croatian
- autoritet
- Swahili
- mamlaka
- Welsh
- awdurdod
Noun police or law enforcement collectively
- Spanish
- policía
- French
- autorité
- German
- Behörde
- Italian
- autorità
- Portuguese
- autoridade
- Russian
- вла́сти vlásti
- Arabic
- سلطة sulṭa
- Japanese
- 当局 tōkyoku
- Dutch
- autoriteit
- Polish
- władza
16 more languages
- Swedish
- myndighet
- Korean
- 권력자 gwollyeokja
- Indonesian
- otoritas
- Hungarian
- hatóság
- Portuguese (PT)
- autoridade
- Albanian
- autoritet
- Czech
- autorita
- Esperanto
- instanco
- Estonian
- võim
- Georgian
- ხელისუფლება xelisupleba
- Lithuanian
- valdžia
- Norwegian
- styresmakt
- Romanian
- autoritate
- Scottish Gaelic
- ùghdarras
- Swahili
- mamlaka
- Welsh
- awdurdod
Noun reliable source of information on a subject
- Spanish
- autoridad
- French
- autorité
- German
- Autorität
- Italian
- autorità
- Portuguese
- autoridade
- Turkish
- otorite
- Russian
- авторите́т avtoritét
- Arabic
- حجة ḥujja
- Chinese
- 权威 quánwēi
- Japanese
- 権威 ken'i
19 more languages
- Dutch
- autoriteit
- Polish
- autorytet
- Swedish
- auktoritet
- Greek
- αυθεντία afthentía
- Korean
- 권위 gwonwi
- Hungarian
- tekintély
- Portuguese (PT)
- autoridade
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 權威 quánwēi
- Albanian
- autoritet
- Czech
- autorita
- Danish
- autoritet
- Esperanto
- aŭtoritato
- Finnish
- auktoriteetti
- Georgian
- ავტორიტეტი avṭoriṭeṭi
- Norwegian
- autoritet
- Romanian
- autoritate
- Scottish Gaelic
- ùghdarras
- Serbo-Croatian
- autoritet
- Welsh
- awdurdod
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorité, fr. L. auctoritas, fr. auctor. See Author, noun
1. Legal or rightful power; a right to command or to act; power exercised buy a person in virtue of his office or trust; dominion; jurisdiction; authorization; as, the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children; the authority of a court.
Thus can the demigod, Authority, Make us pay down for our offense.— William Shakespeare
By what authority doest thou these things ?— Matt. xxi. 23.
2. Government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities. Chiefly in the plural.
3. The power derived from opinion, respect, or esteem; influence of character, office, or station, or mental or moral superiority, and the like; claim to be believed or obeyed; as, an historian of no authority; a magistrate of great authority.
4. That which, or one who, is claimed or appealed to in support of opinions, actions, measures, etc. Hence: (a) Testimony; witness. “And on that high authority had believed.” John Milton (b) A precedent; a decision of a court, an official declaration, or an opinion, saying, or statement worthy to be taken as a precedent. (c) A book containing such a statement or opinion, or the author of the book. (d) Justification; warrant.
Wilt thou be glass wherein it shall discern Authority for sin, warrant for blame.— William Shakespeare
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54