authorize

[ aw-thuh-rahyz ]

See synonyms for: authorize authorized authorizes authorizing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing.

to give authority or official power to; empower: to authorize an employee to sign purchase orders.
to give authority for; formally sanction (an act or proceeding): Congress authorized the new tax on tobacco.

to establish by authority or usage: an arrangement long authorized by etiquette books.
to afford a ground for; warrant; justify.

Origin of authorize

1350–1400; earlier auctorize<Medieval Latin auctōrizāre; replacing Middle English autorisen<Middle French autoriser<Medieval Latin See author, -ize

Also especially British, au·thor·ise .

Other words from authorize

au·thor·iz·a·ble, adjective
au·thor·iz·er, noun
de·au·thor·ize, verb (used with object), de·au·thor·ized, de·au·thor·iz·ing.
mis·au·thor·ize, verb (used with object), mis·au·thor·ized, mis·au·thor·iz·ing.
pre·au·thor·ize, verb (used with object), pre·au·thor·ized, pre·au·thor·iz·ing.
re·au·thor·ize, verb (used with object), re·au·thor·ized, re·au·thor·iz·ing.
self-au·thor·iz·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use authorize in a sentence

I did not authorise, nor was I aware of, phone hacking under my editorship.
Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, and Fleet Street’s Elite Charged | Peter Jukes | July 24, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Depositor can authorise any person he pleases to receive payment of a sum thus withdrawn by notice.
Social Comptabilism, Cheque and Clearing Service & Proposed Law | Ernest Solvay
An act was immediately passed to authorise free trade with the United States, under the treaty which had been concluded.
History of Prince Edward Island | Duncan Campbell
He would have to assist the officers of the law in their duty, and to authorise them to force the doors locked by his son.
The Kellys and the O'Kellys | Anthony Trollope
Should any one even publish things capable of hurting us with good men, that will not authorise us to kill him.
The Life of the Truly Eminent and Learned Hugo Grotius | Jean Lvesque de Burigny

The Roman Martyrology mentions the report, but does not authorise it.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume III (of 16): March | Sabine Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for authorize

authorize

authorise

/ (ˈɔːθəˌraɪz) /

verb(tr)

to confer authority upon (someone to do something); empower
to permit (someone to do or be something) with official sanction: a dealer authorized by a manufacturer to retail his products

Derived forms of authorize

authorization or authorisation, noun
authorizer or authoriser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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