overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

authoritative.

Arising or originating from a figure of authority.

13 characters5 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ɔːˈθɒɹɪtətɪv/Received-Pronunciation/ɔːˈθɒɹɪtɪv/proscribed/əˈθɔɹɪˌteɪtɪv/General-American/əˈθɑɹɪˌteɪtɪv/General-American
  1. Arising or originating from a figure of authority.

    The authoritative rules in this school come not from the headmaster but from the aged matron.
  2. Highly accurate or definitive; treated or worthy of treatment as a scholarly authority.

    This book is the world's most authoritative guide to insect breeding habits.
  3. Having a commanding style.

    He instructed us in that booming, authoritative voice of his.
Where this word comes from

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.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

authoritative has 13 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

authoritative studioauthoritative workshello, authoritative

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.