authority

au·thor·i·ty  (-thôr-t, -thr-, ô-thôr-, ô-thr-)

n. pl. au·thor·i·ties

1.

a. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.

b. One that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials: land titles issued by the civil authority.

2. Power assigned to another; authorization: Deputies were given authority to make arrests.

3. A public agency or corporation with administrative powers in a specified field: a city transit authority.

4.

a. An accepted source of expert information or advice: a noted authority on birds; a reference book often cited as an authority.

b. A quotation or citation from such a source: biblical authorities for a moral argument.

5. Justification; grounds: On what authority do you make such a claim?

6. A conclusive statement or decision that may be taken as a guide or precedent.

7. Power to influence or persuade resulting from knowledge or experience: political observers who acquire authority with age.

8. Confidence derived from experience or practice; firm self-assurance: played the sonata with authority.

---

[Middle English auctorite, from Old French autorite, from Latin auctrits, auctritt-, from auctor, creator; see author.]

---

authority

Noun

pl -ties

1. the power to command, control, or judge others

2. a person or group with this power: a third escapee turned himself in to the authorities

3. a decision-making organization or government department: the local authority

4. an expert in a particular field

5. official permission: he had no authority to negotiate

6. a position that has the power to command, control, or judge others: people in authority

7. on good authority from reliable evidence

8. confidence resulting from expertise [Latin auctor author]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	authority - 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" potency, authorisation, authorization, say-so, dominance power of appointment - authority given (in a will or deed) by a donor to a donee to appoint the beneficiaries of the donor's property control - power to direct or determine; "under control" carte blanche - complete freedom or authority to act command - the power or authority to command; "an admiral in command" imperium - supreme authority; absolute dominion lordship - the authority of a lord muscle - authority or power or force (especially when used in a coercive way); "the senators used their muscle to get the party leader to resign" sovereignty - the authority of a state to govern another state
	2.	authority - (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others; "the authorities have issued a curfew" individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one abrogator - an authority or official empowered to abolish or annul or repeal allocator, distributor - a person with authority to allot or deal out or apportion approver - an authority with power to approve authority figure - someone who is regarded as an authority by someone else authoriser, authorizer - an authority who authorizes (people or actions); "the agents report back to their authorizers" mandator - an authority who issues a mandate pacha, pasha - a civil or military authority in Turkey or Egypt civil authority, civil officer - a person who exercises authority over civilian affairs rebuker, reproacher, reprover, upbraider - someone who finds fault or imputes blame withdrawer - an authority who withdraws permission
	3.	authority - an expert whose views are taken as definitive; "he is an authority on corporate law" expert - a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully adviser, advisor, consultant - an expert who gives advice; "an adviser helped students select their courses"; "the United States sent military advisors to Guatemala" cognoscente, connoisseur - an expert able to appreciate a field; especially in the fine arts evaluator, judge - an authority who is able to estimate worth or quality high priest - a preeminent authority or major proponent of a movement or doctrine; "he's the high priest of contemporary jazz" liturgist - an authority on liturgies professional, master - an authority qualified to teach apprentices
	4.	authority - 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" assurance, confidence, self-assurance, self-confidence, sureness certainty - the state of being certain; "his certainty reassured the others"
	5.	authority - an administrative unit of government; "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority" agency, bureau, federal agency, government agency, office administrative body, administrative unit - a unit with administrative responsibilities executive agency - an agency of the executive branch of government FDA, Food and Drug Administration - a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention - a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services; located in Atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases) Counterterrorist Center, CTC - an agency that helps the Director of Central Intelligence coordinate counterterrorist efforts in order to preempt and disrupt and defeat terrorist activities at the earliest possible stage Nonproliferation Center, NPC - an agency that serves as the focal point for all Intelligence Community activities related to nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their missile delivery systems Bureau of the Census, Census Bureau - the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and other natural disasters related to weather National Climatic Data Center, NCDC - the part of NOAA that maintains the world's largest active archive of weather data National Weather Service - the federal agency in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is responsible for weather forecast and preparation of weather maps Technology Administration - an agency in the Department of Commerce that works with United States industries to promote competitiveness and maximize the impact of technology on economic growth National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST - an agency in the Technology Administration that makes measurements and sets standards as needed by industry or government programs National Technical Information Service, NTIS - an agency in the Technology Administration that is a primary resource for government-funded scientific and technical and engineering and business related information DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense; responsible for developing new surveillance technologies since 9/11 Department of Defense Laboratory System, LABLINK - a defense laboratory that provides essential services in fundamental science for national security and environmental protection and provides technologies that contribute to industrial competitiveness Department of Energy Intelligence, DOEI - an agency that collects political and economic and technical information about energy matters and makes the Department of Energy's technical and analytical expertise available to other members of the Intelligence Community PHS, United States Public Health Service - an agency that serves as the office of Surgeon General; includes agencies whose mission is to improve the public health National Institutes of Health, NIH - an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to employ science in the pursuit of knowledge to improve human health; is the principal biomedical research agency of the federal government BJA, Bureau of Justice Assistance - the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse BJS, Bureau of Justice Statistics - the agency in the Department of Justice that is the primary source of criminal justice statistics for federal and local policy makers Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS - an agency in the Department of Justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the United States United States Border Patrol, US Border Patrol - the mobile law enforcement arm of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that detects and prevents illegal entry of aliens into the United States Bureau of Diplomatic Security, DS - the bureau in the State Department that is responsible for the security of diplomats and embassies overseas Foreign Service - the part of the State Department that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world Bureau of Intelligence and Research, INR - an agency that is the primary source in the State Department for interpretive analyses of global developments and focal point for policy issues and activities of the Intelligence Community
	6.	authority - official permission or approval; "authority for the program was renewed several times" authorisation, authorization, sanction permission - approval to do something; "he asked permission to leave"
	7.	authority - an authoritative written work; "this book is the final authority on the life of Milton" book - a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together); "I am reading a good book on economics" last word - an authoritative statement; "my doctor has the last word on the medicines I take"

---

authority

noun 1. (usually plural) powers that be, government, police, officials, the state, management, administration, the system, the Establishment, Big Brother (informal) officialdom

noun 2. prerogative, right, influence, might, force, power, control, charge, rule, government, weight, strength, direction, command, licence, privilege, warrant, say-so, sway, domination, jurisdiction, supremacy, dominion, ascendancy, mana N.Z.

noun 3. expert, specialist, professional, master, ace (informal) scholar, guru, buff (informal) wizard, whizz (informal) virtuoso, connoisseur, arbiter, hotshot (informal) fundi S. African

noun 4. command, power, control, rule, management, direction, grasp, sway, domination, mastery, dominion

noun 5. permission, leave, permit, sanction, licence, approval, go-ahead (informal) liberty, consent, warrant, say-so, tolerance, justification, green light, assent, authorization, dispensation, carte blanche, a blank cheque, sufferance

Translations

authority [ɔːˈθɔrɪtɪ] n → autoridad f;

the authorities npl → las autoridades;

to have authority to do sth → tener autoridad para hacer algo

authority [ɔːˈθɔrɪtɪ] n → autorité f (= permission); autorisation (formelle);

the authorities → les autorités fpl, l'administration f;

to have authority to do sth → être habilité à faire qch

authority [ɔːˈθɔrɪtɪ] n → Autorität f;

(government body) → Behörde f, Amt nt;

(official permission) → Genehmigung f;

the authorities npl (ruling body) → die Behörden pl;

to have the authority to do sth → befugt sein, etw zu tun

authority [ɔːˈθɔrɪtɪ] n → autorità f inv (= permission); autorizzazione f;

the authorities npl → le autorità;

to have authority to do sth → avere l'autorizzazione a fare or il diritto di fare qc

---

authority

n authority [oːˈθorəti]

1 the power or right to do something He gave me authority to act on his behalf. gesag, mag سُلْطَه، تَفويض власт pravomoc myndighed; autoritet die Befugnis; die Vollmacht εξουσία autoridad volitus اختیار؛ حق valtuudet autorité סַמְכוּת अधिकार ovlaštenje hatalom; meghatalmazás wewenang vald autorità 権限 권능, 직권 įgaliojimas, pavedimas pilnvara; tiesības kuasa machtiging myndighet, autoritet pełnomocnictwo, upoważnienie autoridade au­to­ritate полномочие právomoc avtoriteta ovlašćenje [] rätt, befogenhet อำนาจหน้าที่ yetki 權力 повноваження اختیار quyền lực 权力

2 a person who is an expert, or a book that can be referred to, on a particular subject He is an authority on Roman history. kenner حُجّـه، ثِقه، مَرجِع، مَصدَر مَوثوق авторитет odborník ekspert; autoritet die Autorität αυθεντία autoridad autoriteet کارشناس؛ مرجع auktoriteetti autorité בַּר סַמכָא, מוּמחֶה विशेषज्ञ autoritet szaktekintély ahli sérfræðingur autorità 権威 권위자, 대가 autoritetas, žinovas autoritāte; speciālists pakar autoriteit ekspert, autoritet autorytet autoridade autoritate авторитет;достоверный источник odborník priznan strokovnjak stručnjak auktoritet ผู้ที่รอบรู้ uzman 權威 авторитет سند ، تصدیق chuyên gia 权威

3 (usually in plural) the person or people who have power in an administration etc The authorities would not allow public meetings. owerheid سُلْطَه (مَحَلِّيَه، دُستورِيَه، مَركَزِيَه) власти úřady myndigheder die Obrigkeit (οι) αρχές (πληθ.) autoridades (ameti)võimud مسئولان امور viranomaiset (les) autorités רָשוּת, סַמכוּיוֹת अधिकारी vlasti hatóság penguasa valdhafar autorità 関係当局 당국 valdžia varas institūcijas pihak berkuasa overheid myndighetene władze autoridades auto­rităţi власти úrady oblast vlasti myndighet[] ฝ่ายบริหาร yetkililer 官方；當局 органи влади حاکم ، حکام người có thẩm quyền 官方；当局

4 a natural quality in a person which makes him able to control and influence people a man of authority. oorredingsvermoë, gesag سُلْطان، صَلاحِيَّه، نُفوذ авторитет autorita respekt; autoritet die Autorität κύρος autoridad mõjuvõim اقتدار auktoriteetti autorité סַמכוּתִיוּת प्रभाव autoritet tekintély wibawa valdsmannslegur autorità 威厳 권위 autoritetas autoritāte berwibawa gezag autoritet, respekt autorytet autoridade autoritate авторитет autorita avtoriteta autoritet pondus, anseende ความมีอำนาจ etkileme gücü 魄力, 威信 вага, вплив بآختیار ، اختیار có uy tín 魄力

adj auˌthoriˈtarian

considering obedience to authority more important than personal freedom an authoritarian government. outoritêre إسْتِبْدادي، تَسَلُّطي авторитарен autoritářský autoritær autoritär απολυταρχικός autoritario autoritaarne دیکتاتور؛ مستبد autoritaarinen autoritaire סַמכוִּתי, רוֹדָן निरंकुश autoritaran tekintélyelvű otoriter valdboðs- autoritario 独裁的な 권위주의의 autoritarinis autoritārs kerajaan berwibawa autoritair autoritær despotyczny autoritário auto­ritar(ist) авторитарный autoritatívny avtoritaren autoritaran auktoritär เผด็จการ otoriter 獨裁主義的 авторитарний; владний تحکمانہ ، آمرانہ độc tài 独裁主义的

adj auˈthoritative [-tətiv, (American ) -teitiv]

said or written by an expert or a person in authority an authoritative opinion. gesaghebbend صادِر عَن سُلْطَه مُخْتَصَّه достоверен směrodatný, určující ekspert-; autoritativ; pålidelig maßgeblich έγκυρος, δόκιμος autorizada autoriteetne قابل اطمینان؛ موثق arvovaltainen autorisé סַמכוּתִי प्रामाणिक autoritativan irányadó berwenang opinber autorevole 権威のある 권위있는 autoritetingas autoritatīvs pakar dalam bidang kuasa gezaghebbend ekspert-, autoritativ, pålitelig miarodajny de perito autorizat авторитетный smerodajný pooblaščen autoritativan auktoritativ ซึ่งเชื่อถือได้ güvenilir 有權威的 авторитетний تحکمانہ ، آمرانہ طور پر có thẩm quyền 有权威的