Synonyms for authority
əˈθɔr ɪ ti, əˈθɒr-au·thor·i·ty

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. authority

   Authority unites the right and power of control; age, wisdom, and character give authority to their possessor; a book of learned research has authority, and is even called an authority. Permission justifies another in acting without interference or censure, and usually implies some degree of approval. Authority gives a certain right of control over all that may be affected by the action. There may be a failure to object, which constitutes an implied permission, tho this is more properly expressed by allowance; we allow what we do not oppose, permit what we expressly authorize. The noun permit implies a formal written permission. License is a formal permission granted by competent authority to an individual to do some act or pursue some business which would be or is made to be unlawful without such permission; as, a license to preach, to solemnize marriages, or to sell intoxicating liquors. A license is permission granted rather than authority conferred; the sheriff has authority (not permission nor license) to make an arrest. Consent is permission by the concurrence of wills in two or more persons, a mutual approval or acceptance of something proposed. Compare ALLOW.

   Synonyms:
   allowance, authorization, consent, leave, liberty, license, permission, permit

   Antonyms:
   denial, hindrance, objection, opposition, prevention, prohibition, refusal, resistance

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. authority

   Synonyms:
   ground, justification, authenticity, genuineness, conjectureness, decisiveness, control, direction, jurisdiction, government, regulation, power, right, rule, sway, sufferance, supremacy, dominion

   Antonyms:
   groundlessness, spuriousness, indecision, inconclusiveness, inoperativeness, incompetency, weakness, usurpation, wrong

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. authority, authorization, authorisation, potency, dominance, say-sonoun

   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"

   Synonyms:
   potence, potency, government agency, potentiality, federal agency, assurance, ascendance, authorization, ascendency, control, strength, effectiveness, self-confidence, laterality, potential, say-so, self-assurance, agency, dictum, ascendancy, sanction, dominance, sureness, confidence, bureau, office, empowerment, ascendence, authorisation, mandate, pronouncement

2. authoritynoun

   (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others

   "the authorities have issued a curfew"

   Synonyms:
   potency, assurance, dominance, self-assurance, confidence, government agency, federal agency, sanction, self-confidence, office, authorisation, authorization, bureau, agency, sureness, say-so

3. authoritynoun

   an expert whose views are taken as definitive

   "he is an authority on corporate law"

   Synonyms:
   potency, assurance, dominance, self-assurance, confidence, government agency, federal agency, sanction, self-confidence, office, authorisation, authorization, bureau, agency, sureness, say-so

4. assurance, self-assurance, confidence, self-confidence, authority, surenessnoun

   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"

   Synonyms:
   potency, pledge, sanction, dominance, assurance, authorization, trust, self-confidence, say-so, self-assurance, federal agency, agency, bureau, sureness, confidence, government agency, office, authorisation

5. agency, federal agency, government agency, bureau, office, authoritynoun

   an administrative unit of government

   "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority"

   Synonyms:
   assurance, billet, berth, means, confidence, chest of drawers, spot, bureau, delegacy, role, office staff, function, dominance, post, dresser, sanction, part, self-assurance, power, way, say-so, sureness, place, representation, government agency, agency, chest, position, business office, self-confidence, potency, authorisation, situation, office, authorization, federal agency

6. authority, authorization, authorisation, sanctionnoun

   official permission or approval

   "authority for the program was renewed several times"

   Synonyms:
   endorsement, potency, government agency, countenance, federal agency, assurance, authorization, self-confidence, warrant, say-so, self-assurance, indorsement, agency, sanction, dominance, sureness, confidence, bureau, office, imprimatur, empowerment, authorisation, mandate

7. authoritynoun

   an authoritative written work

   "this book is the final authority on the life of Milton"

   Synonyms:
   potency, assurance, dominance, self-assurance, confidence, government agency, federal agency, sanction, self-confidence, office, authorisation, authorization, bureau, agency, sureness, say-so

Matched Categories

1. • Administrative Unit
   • Book
   • Certainty
   • Control
   • Expert
   • Permission
   • Person

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. guardian

   someone who takes care of you or is in charged of you

   my guardian is the person who takes care of me

   Submitted by rinat on September 9, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   power, sovereignty, dominion, empire, government

2. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   rule, sway, ascendency, supremacy, control, influence, interest

3. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   permission, warrant, warranty, liberty, permit, precept, order, authorization, sanction

4. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   witness, testimony

5. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   credibility, weight of evidence

6. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   respectability, dignity, weight of character

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 2 votes

1. authoritynoun

   Synonyms:
   dominion, jurisdiction, authorization, right, prestige, influence, ascendency, supremacy, precedent, justification, warrant, permission, sanction, permit, license, warranty, credibility, reliability, trustworthiness

   Associated words:
   purview

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "authority":

   power, authorities, authorization, powers, administration, hkma, authorisation, body, competence, agency, jurisdiction, autorité, credentials, permission, authoritative, directors, authorized, 'autorité, pa, eaa, organa, authoritativeness, entity, supervision, authorizations, leadership, oversight, approval, institution, trustees

Suggested Resources

1. authority

   The authority symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the authority symbol and its characteristic.

How to pronounce authority?

How to say authority in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use authority in a sentence?

1. Elizabeth Warren:

   Mueller put the next step in the hands of Congress :' Congress has authority to prohibit a President's corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice, the correct process for exercising that authority is impeachment.

2. Benjamin Cardin:

   It’s an incitement to violence, president Trump helped convene a meeting in Saudi Arabia to stop the financing of terrorism. Well, what Palestinian Authority is doing is financing terrorism. Palestinian Authority must end and the United States must use every opportunity to bring Palestinian Authority to end.

3. Albert Einstein:

   To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.

4. Angel Blessing:

   There are questions of real power and then there are questions of phony authority. You have to break through the phony authority to begin to fight the real questions of power.

5. Peter Drucker:

   Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for force. It means the substitution of responsibility for obedience to rank, and of authority of performance for the authority of rank. Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.