prerogative

[pri-rog-uh-tiv, puh-rog-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prerogative ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like: the prerogatives of a senator.

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.

a power, immunity, or the like restricted to a sovereign government or its representative: The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation.

Obsolete. precedence.

adjective

having or exercising a prerogative.

pertaining to, characteristic of, or existing by virtue of a prerogative.

Origin of prerogative

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin praerogātīvus (adj.) voting first, praerogātīva (noun use of feminine of adj.) tribe or century with right to vote first. See pre-, interrogative

Synonyms for prerogative

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prerogative ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See privilege.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prerogative

immunity, perquisite, claim, exemption, advantage, title, due, liberty, choice, birthright, appanage, authority, sanction, droit

Examples from the Web for prerogative

Contemporary Examples of prerogative

It is entirely the government's prerogative to accede to these requests or not.
In Italy, Religious Minorities Struggle (Vainly) for Official Recognition
Anna Momigliano
November 14, 2013
That is our prerogative, but if we exercise it, we should have a little rule among ourselves.
Gun Crazy: No More 'Thoughts and Prayers'
Joshua DuBois
September 29, 2013
“He is an adult and if he wants to disappear it is his prerogative,” French said.
Nick Stahl: The Search Turns to Skid Row
Chris Lee, Christine Pelisek
May 18, 2012
Perhaps one constant, then, in Fiasco's life is that he reserves the prerogative to quit something once it no longer feels right.
Lupe Fiasco's Revenge
Seth Colter Walls
March 14, 2011
If President Obama decides he needs a new diplomatic team, that is his prerogative.
Petraeus' First Big Problem
Peter Galbraith
June 29, 2010

Historical Examples of prerogative

Every species of mere bodily labor is the prerogative of these Irish.
Sketches from Memory
Nathaniel Hawthorne
There was something that is supposed to be the prerogative of royalty in the lift of it.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
She carried the idea of the prerogative of rank to a high pitch.
Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete
Madame Campan
This is prerogative, and not to be limited by our municipal rules.
Essays, Second Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Those born great are able to do this by prerogative; you and I may succeed to it by skill.
Gerald Fitzgerald
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for prerogative

prerogative

noun

an exclusive privilege or right exercised by a person or group of people holding a particular office or hereditary rank

any privilege or right

a power, privilege, or immunity restricted to a sovereign or sovereign government

adjective

having or able to exercise a prerogative

Word Origin for prerogative

C14: from Latin praerogātīva privilege, earlier: group with the right to vote first, from prae before + rogāre to ask, beg for

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

Word Origin and History for prerogative

"special right or privilege granted to someone," late 14c. (in Anglo-Latin from late 13c.), from Old French prerogative (14c.), Medieval Latin prerogativa "special right," from Latin praerogativa "prerogative, previous choice or election," originally (with tribus, centuria) "unit of 100 voters who by lot voted first in the Roman comita," noun use of fem. of praerogativus (adj.) "chosen to vote first," from praerogere "ask before others," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + rogare "to ask" (see rogation).