magisterial
adjective
Synonyms
- authoritative
- classic
- classical
- definitive
Example Sentences
Debby Wolfinsohn, EW.com, 11 Aug. 2022 And those cadenzas are magisterial — sometimes sinuously lyrical, sometimes churning and dense with double stops. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2022 Jeff Buckley, having learned the song through the Cale cover, created a haunting guitar version that has many admirers; his reading of the song is as gentle as Cale’s is magisterial, suggesting the fragility beneath its surface. Kevin Dettmar, The Atlantic, 1 July 2022 One scene shows them working side by side at the magisterial L.B.J. Presidential Library, in Austin. Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 30 June 2022 Her singing voice is a magisterial thing — epic and portentous, even a little scary. Owen Myers, EW.com, 30 June 2022 Throughline’s magisterial three-part miniseries on Afghanistan offers the long view of a country that Americans often treat as a threat, afterthought, or tragedy, particularly after the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military in 2021. Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 June 2022 The early magisterial Reformation, however, was not always consistent with its founding principles. WSJ, 19 May 2022 The spire of flowers, in its full glory, has long felt to me like a hint of regal splendor, and fittingly, this magisterial tree is called the Magnolia Elizabeth. BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2022 See More Word History
Late Latin magisterialis of authority, from magisterium office of a master, from magister
1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
magisterial
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- authoritative
- classical
- classic
- definitive
- official
- comprehensive
- accurate
- conclusive
- approved
- decisive
- correct
- sanctioned
- complete
- thorough
- exhaustive
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of magisterial are dictatorial, doctrinaire, dogmatic, and oracular. While all these words mean "imposing one's will or opinions on others," magisterial stresses assumption or use of prerogatives appropriate to a magistrate or schoolmaster in forcing acceptance of one's opinions.
The words dictatorial and magisterial can be used in similar contexts, but dictatorial stresses autocratic, high-handed methods and a domineering manner.
While in some cases nearly identical to magisterial, doctrinaire implies a disposition to follow abstract theories in framing laws or policies affecting people.
While the synonyms dogmatic and magisterial are close in meaning, dogmatic implies being unduly and offensively positive in laying down principles and expressing opinions.
Although the words oracular and magisterial have much in common, oracular implies the manner of one who delivers opinions in cryptic phrases or with pompous dogmatism.