Meaning of authority | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Authority, power.
2. Power or right to make or enforce rules, give orders, or impose obligation; or a position having such power or right.
   uncountable
3. considering obedience to authority more important than personal freedom. an authoritarian government. outoritêre إسْتِبْدادي، تَسَلُّطي авторитарен autoritário autoritářský autoritär autoritær απολυταρχικόςautoritario autoritaarne دیکتاتور؛ مستبد autoritaarinen autoritaireסמכותי, רודן निरंकुश autoritaran tekintélyelvű otoriter valdboðs- autoritario 独裁的な 권위주의적인 autoritarinis autoritārs kerajaan berwibawa autoritairautoritærdespotyczny دیکتاتور autoritário auto­ritar(ist) авторитарный autoritat...
4. Persons, regarded collectively, who occupy official positions of power; police or law enforcement.
   countable, plural, uncountable
5. said or written by an expert or a person in authority. an authoritative opinion. gesaghebbend صادِر عَن سُلْطَه مُخْتَصَّه достоверен competente směrodatný, určující maßgeblich ekspert-; autoritativ; pålidelig έγκυρος, δόκιμος autorizada autoriteetne قابل اطمینان؛ موثق arvovaltainen autoriséסמכותי प्रामाणिक autoritativan irányadó berwenang opinber autorevole 権威のある 권위 있는 autoritetingas autoritatīvs pakar dalam bidang kuasa gezaghebbendekspert-, autoritativ, påliteligmiarodajny د اطمینان وړ de ...
6. A reliable, definitive source of information on a subject.
   countable
7. autoridad, facultad.
8. Status as a trustworthy source of information, reputation for mastery or expertise; or claim to such status or reputation.
   uncountable
9. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.
10. Official permission; authorisation to act in some capacity on behalf of a ruling entity.
    uncountable
11. Power assigned to another; authorization: Deputies were given authority to make arrests.
12. A government-owned agency that runs a revenue-generating activity for public benefit.
    countable
13. A public agency or corporation with administrative powers in a specified field: a city transit authority.
14. An accepted source of expert information or advice: a noted authority on birds; a reference book often cited as an authority.
15. Justification; grounds: On what authority do you make such a claim?
16. A conclusive statement or decision that may be taken as a guide or precedent.
17. Power to influence or persuade resulting from knowledge or experience: political observers who acquire authority with age.

Equivalents

Examples

“I have the authority to penalise the staff in my department, but not the authority to sack them.”

“Vigilantes may have the power to nab criminals, but they lack the authority.”

“She lost all respect and authority after turning up drunk at the meeting.”

“Respect my authority!”

“SIR PETER. Very well! ma'am very well! so a husband is to have no influence, no authority? LADY TEAZLE. Authority! no, to be sure—if you wanted authority over me, you should have adopted me and not married me[:] I am sure you were old enough.”

“But in the meantime Robin Hood and his band lived quietly in Sherwood Forest, without showing their faces abroad, for Robin knew that it would not be wise for him to be seen in the neighborhood of Nottingham, those in authority being very wroth with him.”

“It was widely seen as an attempt to deflect attention from the Comey controversy and re-establish some authority at the briefing room podium.”

“Authorities say the suspect fled on foot.”

“The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.”

“No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again.”

“In China, authorities said they might soon shoot down an unidentified flying object over waters near the northern city of Rizhao, The South China Morning Post reported.”

“the world's foremost authority on orangutans”

“My cheap dictionary is not the authority on word derivations.”

“To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.”

“The Egyptian crux ansata, common on Egyptian monuments and other memorials, is considered by some authorities as a triple phallus.”

“Due to being inadequate for the deductive method of reasoning, the argument from authority is considered a logical fallacy.”

“Authority to construct eight carriages, to test the new design in public service, had already been given; but of course complete working drawings had first to be prepared.”

“New York Port Authority”

“Chicago Transit Authority”

CEFR level