authoritative
/əˈθɔɹɪˌteɪtɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Arising or originating from a figure of authority.
adj
Example Sentences
- "The authoritative rules in this school come not from the headmaster but from the aged matron."
- "This book is the world's most authoritative guide to insect breeding habits."
- "He instructed us in that booming, authoritative voice of his."
- "The fourth model is called the enlightment model: Actors are seen to be responsible for problems but unable or unwilling to provide solutions. They are believed to need discipline provided by authoritative guidance. The Alcoholic Anonymous^([sic]) groups are considered prototypical for this model."
- "Woke is here to undermine Star Trek and Starfleet, so, in this conflict, Holly Hunter’s character manifests feminine traits instead of authoritative ones: she’s emotional, uncertain and vulnerable."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti Proto-Italic *augejō Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin auctōritāsbor. Old French autoritébor. Middle English auctorite English authorit(y) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English -ative English authoritative From authorit(y) + -ative.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈθɔɹɪˌteɪtɪv/
- British English: /ɔːˈθɒɹɪtətɪv/
Inflected Forms
more authoritative (comparative)
most authoritative (superlative)