authority

/ə-ˈthȯr-ə-tē/

Middle English autorite, auctorite, borrowed from Anglo-French autorité, auctorité, borrowed from Latin auctōritāt-, auctōritās "right of ownership, sanction, approval, the power to authorize or sanction, convincing force of an utterance or appearance," from auctōr-, auctor "originator, creator, authority" + -itāt-, -itās -ity

noun

  1. power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior

  2. freedom granted by one in authority : right

  3. persons in command; specifically : government

the president's authority

Who gave you the authority to do as you wish?

influence authority prestige weight credit mean power exerted over the minds or behavior of others. influence may apply to a force exercised and received consciously or unconsciously. authority implies the power of winning devotion or allegiance or of compelling acceptance and belief.

noun

  1. a person who has authority over another person

A child needs an authority figure in his or her life.

adjective

  1. opposed to or hostile toward authority : antiauthoritarian

The notion of educators being in loco parentis did not survive the anti-authority upheavals of the 1960s.