Dictionary

authorize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑθəɹaɪz/ (US)
• /ˈɔθəɹaɪz/ (US)
• /ˈɔːθəɹaɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑθəɹaɪz/ (Canada)
• /ˈɒθəɹaɪz/ (Canada)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English auctorisen, from Old French auctorisier, from Medieval Latin auctōrizāre, from Latin auctor. See author about the orthography with ⟨h⟩. Doublet of octroy.

Meanings

1. (British, English, Oxford, US, ambitransitive) To grant (someone) the permission or power necessary to do (something); to permit; to sanction or consent to.
   • The soundingness of hearing and voicing constitute an embodied sense of presence and of memory. Voice then authorizes identities as identities authorize voice. 2007, Patricia Kruth, Henry Stobart, Sound, page 184:
   • The term “Alfredian” then is not univocal; it can mean, depending on the argument, anything from Alfred setting down words by himself, to Alfred working with a little or a lot of help in writing or dictating, or to Alfred authorizing another or others to act in his name with degrees of his personal involvement varying from much to nil. 1986, Paul E. Szarmach, “Introduction”, in Studies in Earlier Old English Prose, State University of New York Press, →ISBN, page 2:
   • The General Assembly authorized the Council to take up the matter.
   • Meese arrived back at the Justice Department at 12:45 p.m. and advised Reynolds, Cooper, and Richardson that the President had authorized him to "get his arms around the Iranian initiative." 1995, Lee H. Hamilton, Daniel K. Inouye, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran/Contra Affair, →ISBN, page 305:
   • When authorizing in IE5 against an LDAP server, if the password is incorrect, IE will not issue the challenge again, it will go right to the error document. 1999 November 12, Peredina, “mod_ldap and IE5”, in comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix (Usenet), archived from the original on 04 Jul 2026:
   • The judge authorized the wiretapping.

Forms

Antonyms

ban · prohibit · deauthorize

Deriveds

exauthorize · authorization · reauthorize · disauthorize · unauthorized · authorizer · authorisation · misauthorize · unauthorize · unauthorised · preauthorize · authorizable

Synonyms

license · permit

Translations (69)

ja 許可する (to grant power or permission) · fi antaa lupa (to permit) · da autorisere (to grant power or permission) · mi whakamana (to permit) · uk уповнова́жити (to grant power or permission) · yi אויטאָריזירן (to grant power or permission) · fr autoriser (to grant power or permission) · ru одо́брить (to grant power or permission) · sq lejoj (to grant power or permission) · fr autoriser (to permit) · bg одобрявам (to grant power or permission) · it autorizzare (to grant power or permission) · be упаўнава́жваць (to grant power or permission) · ca autoritzar (to grant power or permission) · da befuldmægtige (to grant power or permission) · de eine Erlaubnis erteilen für (to permit) · ru уполномо́чить (to grant power or permission) · cmn 授權 /授权 (to grant power or permission) · cy awdurdodi (to grant power or permission) · bg разрешавам (to grant power or permission) · hu meghatalmaz (to grant power or permission) · de eine Befugnis erteilen für (to permit) · sl pooblastiti (to grant power or permission) · ko 허가하다 (to grant power or permission) · ru авторизова́ть (to grant power or permission) · oc autorizar (to grant power or permission) · da bemyndige (to grant power or permission) · sv auktorisera (to grant power or permission) · sv bemyndiga (to grant power or permission) · hu feljogosít (to grant power or permission) · it autorizzare (to permit) · cy awdurdodi (to permit) · fi sallia (to permit) · de autorisieren (to grant power or permission) · bg упълномощавам (to grant power or permission) · ia autorisar (to grant power or permission) · uk уповнова́жувати (to grant power or permission) · hu engedélyez (to permit) · fi antaa lupa (to grant power or permission) · de befugen (to grant power or permission) · nl machtigen (to grant power or permission) · hu felhatalmaz (to grant power or permission) · he הסמיך (to grant power or permission) · ru одобря́ть (to grant power or permission) · sl pooblaščati (to grant power or permission) · sh ovlástiti (to grant power or permission) · ja 許可する (to permit) · la auctōrizō (to grant power or permission) · no gi fullmakt (to grant power or permission) · fi myöntää lupa (to permit) · de berechtigen (to grant power or permission) · sh autorizírati (to grant power or permission) · sv befullmäktiga (to grant power or permission) · de bevollmächtigen (to grant power or permission) · sq autorizoj (to grant power or permission) · es autorizar (to grant power or permission) · de ermächtigen (to grant power or permission) · ru уполномо́чивать (to grant power or permission) · no bemyndige (to grant power or permission) · gl autorizar (to grant power or permission) · ja 公認する (to grant power or permission) · pt deixar (to grant power or permission) · be упаўнава́жыць (to grant power or permission) · ru авторизо́вывать (to grant power or permission) · pt autorizar (to grant power or permission) · mi whakamana (to grant power or permission) · et volitama (to grant power or permission) · fi valtuuttaa (to grant power or permission) · et lubama (to grant power or permission)