authority
Power or right to make or enforce rules, give orders, or impose obligation; or a position having such power or right.
Noun 4 meanings
Power or right to make or enforce rules, give orders, or impose obligation; or a position having such power or right.
“I have the authority to penalise the staff in my department, but not the authority to sack them.”
Persons, regarded collectively, who occupy official positions of power; police or law enforcement.
“Authorities say the suspect fled on foot.”
A reliable, definitive source of information on a subject.
“the world's foremost authority on orangutans”
Status as a trustworthy source of information, reputation for mastery or expertise; or claim to such status or reputation.
“Due to being inadequate for the deductive method of reasoning, the argument from authority is considered a logical fallacy.”
Etymology
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”). For the presence of the h, compare the etymology of author.
Similar and opposite words
AUTHORITY at a glance
AUTHORITY has 9 letters and scores 15 points in Scrabble (A 1 + U 1 + T 1 + H 4 + O 1 + R 1 + I 1 + T 1 + Y 4) and 14 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #1,579 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with authority
All rhymes- CITY9
- UNIVERSITY16
- COMMUNITY18
- SECURITY13
- QUALITY19
- ABILITY12
- OPPORTUNITY18
- MAJORITY20
- REALITY10
- ACTIVITY16
- RESPONSIBILITY21
- CAPACITY17
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