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authoritative

UK/ɔːˈθɒɹɪtətɪv/US/əˈθɔɹɪˌteɪtɪv/
adjectiveB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,791 of 15,258leans written

Authoritative means reliable because it comes from real expertise. The authoritative account.

It also describes a manner that expects to be believed, which is not the same thing. An authoritative source is one you can cite without explaining why.

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Definitions of authoritative

  1. 1adjectiveauthoritativeReliable because it comes from real expertise.B2+

    “The authoritative edition took thirty years.”

authoritative is a quality.

Where it comes from

  1. Middle English

    auctorite

  2. English

    authority

  3. English, today

    authoritative

Built from

  • autorite · Middle English — authority, book or quotation that settles an argument
  • auctōritās · Latin — invention, advice, opinion, influence, command
  • auctor · Latin — master, leader, author

From authority + -ative. authority comes from Middle English auctorite. From Middle English auctorite, autorite (“authority, book or quotation that settles an argument”), from Old French auctorité, from Latin - stem of auctōritās (“invention, advice, opinion, influence, command”), from auctor (“master, leader, author”). For the presence of the h, compare the etymology of author.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

authoritative in the wild

  • The Domain Name System delegates the responsibility of assigning domain names and mapping those names to Internet resources by designating authoritative name servers for each domain.

    Domain Name System

  • Published and maintained by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Accounting Standards Codification outlines the specific and authoritative rules governing GAAP for non-governmental organizations.

    Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (United States)

  • Accreditation bodies are established in many economies with the primary purpose of ensuring that conformity assessment bodies are subject to oversight by an authoritative body.

    Accreditation

  • Religious texts are usually thought of as sacred or authoritative based on their recognition and use in a religious community.

    Religious text

  • Within each religion, these texts are revered as authoritative sources of guidance, wisdom, and divine revelation.

    Religious text

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the auctor family

authorityauthor

authoritative — used about once every 16,706 pages · #12,791 · point at the bar for the others