authorization

[ aw-ther-uh-zey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of authorizing.
2. permission or power granted by an authority; sanction.
3. a legislative act authorizing money to be spent for government programs that specifies a maximum spending level without provision for actual funds.

Other Words From

• de·au·thor·i·za·tion noun
• mis·au·thor·i·za·tion noun
• pre·au·thor·i·za·tion noun
• re·au·thor·i·za·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of authorization¹

First recorded in 1600–10; authorize + -ation

Example Sentences

Under Israeli law, the police had done nothing wrong — the villages they destroyed were among 35 Bedouin communities "unrecognized" by the government, ostensibly because they were built without official authorization.

From Salon

But she fears his impending presidency, because she worries about her siblings who are in the country without authorization.

From Los Angeles Times

In January, the DEA charged two doctors in St. Louis, Missouri for distributing ketamine without authorization, and the agency also charged two doctors in connection to Perry’s death this summer.

From Salon

The records indicate that at least 160 staffing firms, most of them identified during the Trump administration, employed people with suspicious documents or no evidence of authorization.

From New York Times

As legal scholar Matt Waxman has reminded us, FDR’s successor, Harry Truman, went to war in Korea without congressional authorization.

From Salon

Related Words

• approval
• authority
• endorsement
• green light
• sanction
• signature