4 → see also co-author SYNONYMS author NOUN 1
novelist: …a romantic novelist.
writer: …detective stories by American writers.
hack: …a hack writer of cheap romances.
columnist: …the gossip columnists' favourite target.
journalist: I am doing media studies and hope to become a journalist.
author|ess /ɔː θəres/ (authoresses ) N‑COUNT An authoress is a female author. Many female writers object to this word, and prefer to be called authors.
autho|rial /ɔːθɔː riəl/ ADJ [ADJ n] Authorial means relating to the author of something such as a book or play. □ There are times when the book suffers from excessive authorial control.
author|ing /ɔː θər I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Authoring is the creation of documents, especially for the internet. [COMPUTING ] □ …software authoring tools.
author|ise /ɔː θəra I z/ → see authorize
authori|tar|ian /ɔːθɒ r I teə riən, [AM ] -θɔː r-/ (authoritarians ) ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a person or an organization as authoritarian , you are critical of them controlling everything rather than letting people decide things for themselves. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Senior officers could be considering a coup to restore authoritarian rule. ● N‑COUNT An authoritarian is someone who is authoritarian. □ Don became the overly strict authoritarian he felt his brother needed.
authori|tari|an|ism /ɔːθɒ r I teə riən I zəm, [AM ] -θɔː r-/ N‑UNCOUNT Authoritarianism is the state of being authoritarian or the belief that people with power, especially the State, have the right to control other people's actions. [FORMAL ]
authori|ta|tive /ɔːθɒ r I tət I v, [AM ] əθɔː r I te I t I v/
1 ADJ Someone or something that is authoritative gives an impression of power and importance and is likely to be obeyed. □ He has a commanding presence and a deep, authoritative voice.
2 ADJ Someone or something that is authoritative has a lot of knowledge of a particular subject. □ The first authoritative study of polio was published in 1840.
author|ity ◆◆◆ /ɔːθɒ r I ti, [AM ] -tɔː r-/ (authorities )
1 N‑PLURAL The authorities are the people who have the power to make decisions and to make sure that laws are obeyed. □ This provided a pretext for the authorities to cancel the elections.
2 N‑COUNT [oft in names] An authority is an official organization or government department that has the power to make decisions. □ …the Health Education Authority. □ Any alterations had to meet the approval of the local planning authority.
3 → see also local authority
4 N‑UNCOUNT Authority is the right to command and control other people. □ The judge had no authority to order a second trial.
5 N‑UNCOUNT If someone has authority , they have a quality which makes other people take notice of what they say. □ He had no natural authority and no capacity for imposing his will on others.
6 N‑UNCOUNT Authority is official permission to do something. □ The police were given authority to arrest anyone suspected of subversive thoughts.
7 N‑COUNT Someone who is an authority on a particular subject knows a lot about it. □ [+ on ] He's universally recognized as an authority on Russian affairs.
8 PHRASE If you say you have it on good authority that something is true, you mean that you believe it is true because you trust the person who told you about it. □ I have it on good authority that there's no way this light can cause skin cancer. COLLOCATIONS authority NOUN
1
noun + authority : health, immigration, prison, tax
authority + be + adjective : powerless
verb + authority : alert
2
noun + authority : education, planning
adjective + authority : regulatory, relevant, statutory
4
adjective + authority : moral
verb + authority : abuse, assert, exercise
7
adjective + authority : leading SYNONYMS authority NOUN
1
the powers that be: The powers that be may keep us from building our house.
the state: The state does not collect enough revenue to cover its expenditure.
the system: He wants to be the tough rebel who bucks the system.
the Establishment: What do you expect? This is the Establishment we're taking on.
government: …fighting between government forces and left-wing rebels.
4
power: The police have the power of arrest.
jurisdiction: The British police have no jurisdiction over foreign bank accounts.
supremacy: The conservative old guard had re-established its political supremacy.
author|ize /ɔː θəra I z/ (authorizes , authorizing , authorized ) in BRIT, also use authorise VERB If someone in a position of authority authorizes something, they give their official permission for it to happen. □ [V n] It would certainly be within his power to authorize a police raid like that. ● authori|za|tion /ɔː θəra I ze I ʃ ə n/ (authorizations ) N‑VAR □ The United Nations will approve his request for authorization to use military force to deliver aid.