authoritative
/ɔːˈθɒrɪtətɪv
/ /ɔːˈθɒrɪˌteɪtɪv/adjective
1Able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable: clear, authoritative information and advice an authoritative source...
- There isn't an exhaustive amount of authoritative or reliable information about his life, and there is an exhaustive amount of confusing folklore.
- The National Atlas makes authoritative, reliable geographic information more readily accessible to the public.
- For years and years, they have been the most authoritative and the most reliable sources of information in their communities.
Synonyms
reliable, dependable, trustworthy, good, sound, authentic, valid, well founded, attested, certified, verifiable;
accurate, factual, from the horse's mouth
1.1(Of a text) considered to be the best of its kind and unlikely to be improved upon: this is likely to become the authoritative study of the subject...
- As in other titles in this series, this has the authoritative text (here based on the first British edition of 1886 which sold for 1s.).
- It follows the series' standard format with the authoritative text, here based on the 1674 edition with a few editorial changes, to which explanatory notes are given.
- The same year, he published his famous manual on tropical diseases, an authoritative text that appeared in several subsequent editions.
Synonyms
definitive, most reliable, best, most scholarly;
classic;
authorized, accredited, recognized, accepted, approved, sanctioned
2Commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and obeyed: his voice was calm and authoritative...
- The older one had that dominating, authoritative air about him.
- They were still waiting over an hour later as the police went about using their metal barricades and polite but authoritative commands to disperse the area.
- The role of Salieri demands a commanding and authoritative presence and this was supplied in abundance by Mark Craddock.
Synonyms
self-assured, assured, self-confident, confident, sure of oneself;
commanding, imposing, masterful, magisterial, lordly, assertive, dogmatic, peremptory, arrogant, dominating, domineering, imperious, overbearing, bossy, authoritarian
2.1Proceeding from an official source and requiring compliance or obedience: authoritative directives...
- What is required is the authoritative resolution of a legal issue.
Derivatives
authoritativeness
- What he lacks in scholarly authoritativeness, he makes up for in readability: this is an enjoyable journey through the ups and downs of Machiavelli's life.
- He has had no problem mastering the tone of authoritativeness.
- However, it also represents an important element in creating a sense of authoritativeness on the part of the ethnographer.