authoritative

[uh-thawr-i-tey-tiv, uh-thor-]

adjective

1. having due authority; having the sanction or weight of authority.

   an authoritative opinion.

   Synonyms: official

2. substantiated or supported by documentary evidence and accepted by most authorities in a field.

   an authoritative edition of Shakespeare; an authoritative treatment of a subject.

3. having an air of authority; accustomed to exercising authority; positive; peremptory; dictatorial.

   said with an authoritative air.

   Synonyms: authoritarian, dogmatic

authoritative

/ ɔːˈθɒrɪtətɪv /

adjective

1. recognized or accepted as being true or reliable

   an authoritative article on drugs

2. exercising or asserting authority; commanding

   an authoritative manner

3. possessing or supported by authority; official

   an authoritative communiqué

Other Word Forms

• authoritatively adverb
• authoritativeness noun
• nonauthoritative adjective
• nonauthoritatively adverb
• nonauthoritativeness noun
• unauthoritative adjective
• unauthoritatively adverb
• unauthoritativeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of authoritative¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; authorit(y) + -ative

Example Sentences

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian organization that purports to “affirm the inspired, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God,” has lent several of its attorneys to represent Chiles in the case.

Read more on Salon

The government says the proposed new digital ID - which will cost the user nothing - "will be the authoritative proof of who someone is and their residency status in this country".

Read more on BBC

Sir Menzies Campbell, latterly Lord Campbell of Pittenweem but usually known as Ming, was one of Westminster's most distinctive and authoritative voices.

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The critical gesture of removal at once recognized the authoritative potency of the father, while insisting that the son was necessarily charged with representing a changed world.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ultimately fit to bat, he came to the crease at a time when England had failed to make the authoritative start they would have sought in their reply.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• accurate 
• authentic 
• definitive 
• dependable 
• factual 
• reliable 
• scholarly 
• trustworthy 
• truthful