prerogative
Americannoun
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an exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like.
the prerogatives of a senator.
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a right, privilege, etc., limited to a specific person or to persons of a particular category.
It was the teacher's prerogative to stop the discussion.
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a power, immunity, or the like restricted to a sovereign government or its representative.
The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation.
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Obsolete. precedence.
adjective
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having or exercising a prerogative.
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pertaining to, characteristic of, or existing by virtue of a prerogative.
noun
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an exclusive privilege or right exercised by a person or group of people holding a particular office or hereditary rank
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any privilege or right
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a power, privilege, or immunity restricted to a sovereign or sovereign government
adjective
Synonym Usage
See privilege.
Etymology
Origin of prerogative
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin praerogātīvus (adjective) “voting first,” praerogātīva (noun use of feminine of adjective) “tribe or century with right to vote first.” See pre-, interrogative
Explanation
A prerogative is someone's special right or privilege. As Bobby Brown once sang, "I don't need permission / Make my own decisions / That's my prerogative." Prerogative goes back to a Latin root for a group having the right to vote first (prae-, "pre-" + rogare, "to ask") and thus came to mean "privileged rank." In current use, it refers to a right or privilege held by any person or group. A near synonym is privilege, which puts more emphasis on the fact that others do not have it. The self-justifying phrase "That's my prerogative" (for example, in reference to changing one's mind) is quite common.
Vocabulary lists containing prerogative
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Grade 11, List 1
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Legislators are also not, for now, challenging Disney’s even more super-secret authority to indefinitely detain “any individual deemed to be in violation … of Mouse Prerogative 7.0 Delta.”
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2022
This set a precedent, although ministers are not constitutionally bound to consult in this way, as they are able to exercise the Royal Prerogative on such matters.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2014
He said he had information that the Royal Prerogative, effectively granting amnesty to some republicans, had been used.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2014
In 1988, Bobby Brown bragged that "no one can tell me what to do" in his hit song about his awesomeness, "My Prerogative."
From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2011
Prerogative, prē-rog′a-tiv, n. a peculiar privilege shared by no other: a right arising out of one's rank, position, or nature.—adj. arising out of, or held by, prerogative.—v.t. to endow with a prerogative.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
