Authority
[ɔː'θɒrɪtɪ] or [ə'θɔrəti]
Definition
(noun.) official permission or approval; 'authority for the program was renewed several times'.
(noun.) 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'.
(noun.) an authoritative written work; 'this book is the final authority on the life of Milton'.
(noun.) an expert whose views are taken as definitive; 'he is an authority on corporate law'.
(noun.) (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others; 'the authorities have issued a curfew'.
Typed by Lesley--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) 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.
(n.) Government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities.
(n.) 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.
(n.) That which, or one who, is claimed or appealed to in support of opinions, actions, measures, etc.
(n.) Testimony; witness.
(n.) A precedent; a decision of a court, an official declaration, or an opinion, saying, or statement worthy to be taken as a precedent.
(n.) A book containing such a statement or opinion, or the author of the book.
(n.) Justification; warrant.
Edited by Bonita
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Power, sovereignty, dominion, empire, government.[2]. Rule, sway, ascendency, supremacy, control, influence, interest.[3]. Permission, warrant, warranty, liberty, permit, precept, order, authorization, sanction.[4]. Witness, testimony.[5]. Credibility, weight of evidence.[6]. Respectability, dignity, weight of character.
Checked by Edwin
Definition
n. legal power or right: power derived from office or character: weight of testimony: permission:—pl. Author′ities precedents: opinions or sayings carrying weight: persons in power.—adj. Author′itative having the sanction or weight of authority: dictatorial.—adv. Author′itatively.—n. Author′itativeness.
Checked by Alyson
Examples
- They were sanctioned by the authority of heaven, and it was deemed impiety to alter them. Plato. The Republic.
- This leads us to consider the fifth source of authority, viz. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- And on the question of pumps versus patent-leather Oxfords his authority had never been disputed. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Yes; and we accept his authority. Plato. The Republic.
- As I pressed her dear lips to mine the old feeling of unconquerable power and authority rose in me. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- She loved him as a kind elder brother; a relation to guide, protect, and instruct her, without the too frequent tyranny of parental authority. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Hadn't his authority. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The philosopher should not beg of mankind to be put in authority over them. Plato. The Republic.
- Law,' replied Mr. Grummer--'Law, civil power, and exekative; them's my titles; here's my authority. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- And he had it in charge from high authority to bring about the great public-office Millennium, when Commissioners should reign upon earth. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Probably you don't mistake, sir,' was Miss Wren's cool answer; 'because you had it on the best authority. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- In those three capacities I speak with authority, with confidence, with honourable regret. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister,--Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- His authority and consideration depend very much upon the respect which this society bears to him. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The command was given in tones of authority and it was taken down, never to be raised again in St. Louis. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- All authorities agree that that discernment of relationships is the genuinely intellectual matter; hence, the educative matter. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The authorities thought differently, however. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The Chinese authorities kill thousands of innocent people on the most frivolous pretexts. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- They are better authorities than I am, for they know what virtue is, and I don't. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Tests on a considerable scale were made by order of the naval authorities. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Grand Gulf was accordingly given up as a base and the authorities at Washington were notified. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- With federal, state, and municipal authorities in existence, with courts, district attorneys, police all operating, they create another arm of prosecution. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Then for a week he taught in Jerusalem, surrounded by a crowd of followers who made his arrest by the authorities difficult. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- From various authorities I have culled information concerning Tiberias. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The authorities are excellent at amassing facts, though they do not always use them to advantage. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Now, let us see what the Indians did, after the prison authorities had allowed them to receive their letter. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- If I wanted other authorities for Jarndyce and Jarndyce, I could rain them on these pages, to the shame of--a parsimonious public. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- No doubt it was very weak--it always IS very weak, some authorities hold--but he loved the girl. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- At least you cannot escape from these two witnesses; and they can produce you before any public authorities, or before hundreds of people! Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- There are almost a hundred recommendations to various authorities--Federal, State, county, city, police, educational and others. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Typist: Maxine