authority Hear it!

authority Definition

au·thor·ity (ə t̸hôr′ə tē, -t̸här′-)

noun pl. -·ties

    1. the power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make final decisions; jurisdiction
    2. the position of one having such power a person in authority
  2. such power as delegated to another; authorization; warrant he has my authority to do it
  3. power or influence resulting from knowledge, prestige, etc.
    1. the citation of a writing, decision, etc. in support of an opinion, action, etc.
    2. the writing, etc. cited
  5. reliability of a source or witness
    1. persons, esp. in government, having the power or right to enforce orders, laws, etc.
    2. a government agency that administers a project
  7. a person with much knowledge or experience in some field, whose information or opinion is hence reliable; expert
  8. self-assurance and expertness that come with experience the pianist's performance lacked authority

Etymology: ME autorite < OFr autorité, auctorité < L auctoritas < auctor, author

authority Synonyms

authority

n.

  1. Power based on right

    right, authorization, jurisdiction; see power 2.

  2. The appearance of having authority, sense 1

    prestige, political influence, weight, self-assurance; see influence 2.

  3. A person or persons vested with authority, sense 1; usually plural

    officialdom, officials, judges, court, police, government, government agency, office-holders, administration, cabinet, executive, duly constituted representatives, ecclesiastics, the powers that be*; see also bureaucracy 1.

  4. One who knows

    expert, scholar, critic, professional; see specialist. See syn. study atinfluence, power.

authority Law Definition

n

  1. The authorization, permission, power, or right to act on another’s behalf and to bind them by such actions. See also agency, agent, and principal.
  2. The right or power to command, govern, or enforce obedience.
  3. A legal writing, such as a judicial decision, law review article or legal treatise, or a statute’s legislative history that provides information or insight on how to interpret and apply the law. See also precedent.
actual authority
Authority, express or implied, intentionally given by a principal to an agent.
adverse authority
Authority that is detrimental to a party’s argument or position regarding a question or an issue. Usually, when a lawyer finds such authority, he is under an ethical obligation to reveal it to the court, but it is done in such a way (for example, arguing that the decision in a previous case should be narrowly construed or was wrongly decided) as to minimize the authority’s effect upon his client’s case.
apparent authority
Authority that can be reasonably inferred by a third party to have been given to an agent based upon the third party’s dealings with the principal or upon the principal’s representations even if the principal did not intend to give the agent such authority.
binding authority
See precedent.
persuasive authority
Authority that is not binding on a court but still merits consideration. For example, a scholarly work or the decision of a higher court in another jurisdiction.
primary authority
Authority that is issued by law-making bodies, such as a court’s decision or a statute’s legislative history.
secondary authority
Authority that analyzes and explains the law, but is not issued by a court or legislature. For example, an annotation, law review article, or legal treatise.
authority Usage Examples

Preposition: beyond

  • whiteness: Arm across shoulder we used the superior to mabel authority beyond whiteness.

Converse of object

  • enforce: You must notify the enforcing authority without delay i.e. by telephone.
  • delegate: The policy is executed by the Bank's ALCO whose Chairman has been delegated authority by the Chief Executive.
  • prosecute: All the various prosecuting authorities, not only the CPS, could benefit from such an order.
  • neighbor: Learners seeking to attend a school in neighboring authorities should contact the Transport Unit for further information.
  • designate: It shall also give notice of any change in the designated authorities.
  • inform: It is not the responsibility of the physician to inform the regulatory authority of the diagnosis, except in exceptional circumstances.

Adjective modifier

  • local: Capital Receipts: Money received by the local authority from the transfer of housing stock.
  • competent: The competent German authorities are able to give further information about this.
  • unitary: In all cases Slough showed the highest incidences in the six unitary authorities.
  • public: All 22 public library authorities in the region are involved.
  • relevant: Claim forms require to be submitted having been fully completed by the relevant hospital authority.
  • regulatory: We will disclose information about you to regulatory authorities in response to formal requests.

Converse of subject

  • approve: The prohibition does not include vaccination campaigns carried out by companies and approved by the relevant authorities.

Noun used with modifier

  • highway: Highway authorities are required to protect the historic environment from the worst effects of traffic.
  • licensing: The licensing authority will take over responsibility for granting gaming machine permits from the courts.
  • planning: These points apply to all planning authorities, not just South Hams.
  • enforcement: Enforcement authorities and the Food Advisory Committee have been informed of the results of this survey.
  • education: Twelve local education authorities are sharing nearly £ 13 million to develop around 30 pilot projects.
  • police: The police authority should liaise with the chief constable about the frequency with which visits should be carried out.
authority Quotes

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and myservant shall be healed.For Iama man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man,Go, and he goeth; and to another,Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed,Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

—Bible (NewTestament)

[Jeremy] Bentham held no post at the mercy of bankers and tripe sellers; he was a man of independent means, a lawyer and politician and a heretic in general practice. It is impossible to imagine such a man occupying a chair at Harvard or Princeton.Hehad a hand intoomany pies; he was too rebellious and contumacious; he had too little respect for authority, either academic or worldly. Moreover, his mind was too wide for a professor; he Mencken could never remain safely in a groove; the whole field of social organization invited his inquiries and experiments.

—Mencken, H(enry) L(ouis)

Authority forgets a dying king.

—Tennyson

You will soon hate me as much as you love me now, for you assume an authority in the affairs of the church to which I shall never assent.

—Becket,Thomas a'  , Saint

The authority of a belief imposed by religion surely destroys the discovery of reality.One relies on authority because one is afraid to stand alone.

—Krishnamurti,Jiddu

The essence of Christianity is the appeal to the life of Christ as a revelation of the nature of God and of his agency in the world. The record is fragmentary, inconsistent and uncertain† But there can be no doubt as to the elements in the record that have evoked the best in human nature. The Mother, the Child and the bare manger: the lowly man, homeless and self- forgetful, with his message of peace, love and sympathy: the suffering, the agony, the tender words as life ebbed, the final despair: and the whole with the authority of supreme victory.

—Whitehead, Alfred North

They, who would combat general authority with particular opinion, must first establish themselves a reputation of understanding better than other men.

—Dryden,John

I earn it by enjoying such authorityand prestige that people will not buy expensive Italian pictures without myapproval.

—Berenson, Bernard

He was my crowned King, and if the Parliamentary authority of England set the crown upon a stock, I will fight for that stock: And as I fought then for him, I will fight for you, when you are established by the said authority.

—Norfolk

A king has no dignity when he exercises authority over beggars, only when he rules over prosperous and happy subjects.

—More, SirThomas

A journalist ishardlyanauthorityuponanythingöunless perhapsupontheappraisal of the drift of public opinion.

—Dafoe,JohnW

The function of literature through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and thehigh authorityof theself in its quarrel with its society and its culture. Literature is in that sense subversive.

—Trillin, Calvin Marshall

A king is always a kingöand a woman always a woman; his authorityand her sex, ever stand between them and rational converse.

—Wollstonecraft, Mary also known as Mrs Godwin

If I was an aspirant litterateur, I was also an aspirant anarchist. I have disliked Authority always, though sometimes seduced by its resplendence.

—Morris,Jan formerly James Morris

My culture and my language have the right to exist, and no one has the authority to dismiss that.

—Kelman,James

If the husband be a man with whom you have lived on a friendly footing before marriage,öif you did not come inonthewife'sside,öif youdid not sneak intothehouse in her train, but were an old friend in first habits of intimacy before their courtship was so much as thought on,ölook about you† Every long friendship, every old authentic intimacy, must be brought into their office to be new stamped with their currency, as a sovereign Prince calls in the good old money that was coined in some reign before he was born or thought of, to be new marked and minted with the stamp of his authority, before he will let it pass current in the world.

—Lamb, Charles

It's funny: you hate authorityand thenyour photography takes on an authority.

—Baker, Colin

Yes, they say, go and write whatever story you want, but don't use whatever language is necessary† By implication those in authority ask the writer to censor and suppressheror his ownwork.Theydemand it.If you don't comply then your work isn't produced.

—Kelman,James

   The vices of authorityare chiefly four: delays, corruption, roughness, and facility.

—Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans