prerogative
Americannoun
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an exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like.
the prerogatives of a senator.
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a right, privilege, etc., limited to a specific person or to persons of a particular category.
It was the teacher's prerogative to stop the discussion.
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a power, immunity, or the like restricted to a sovereign government or its representative.
The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation.
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Obsolete. precedence.
adjective
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having or exercising a prerogative.
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pertaining to, characteristic of, or existing by virtue of a prerogative.
noun
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an exclusive privilege or right exercised by a person or group of people holding a particular office or hereditary rank
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any privilege or right
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a power, privilege, or immunity restricted to a sovereign or sovereign government
adjective
Synonym Usage
See privilege.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of prerogative
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin praerogātīvus (adjective) “voting first,” praerogātīva (noun use of feminine of adjective) “tribe or century with right to vote first.” See pre-, interrogative
Explanation
A prerogative is someone's special right or privilege. As Bobby Brown once sang, "I don't need permission / Make my own decisions / That's my prerogative." Prerogative goes back to a Latin root for a group having the right to vote first (prae-, "pre-" + rogare, "to ask") and thus came to mean "privileged rank." In current use, it refers to a right or privilege held by any person or group. A near synonym is privilege, which puts more emphasis on the fact that others do not have it. The self-justifying phrase "That's my prerogative" (for example, in reference to changing one's mind) is quite common.
Vocabulary lists containing prerogative
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Grade 11, List 1
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Legislators are also not, for now, challenging Disney’s even more super-secret authority to indefinitely detain “any individual deemed to be in violation … of Mouse Prerogative 7.0 Delta.”
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2022
The Royal Prerogative of Mercy can be used to grant a pardon to somebody or to reduce their sentence.
From BBC • Aug. 25, 2021
But Lord True said the powers of patronage ultimately lay with the prime minister as the Queen's chief adviser under the Royal Prerogative and he was entitled to "refresh" the House of Lords.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2021
In 1988, Bobby Brown bragged that "no one can tell me what to do" in his hit song about his awesomeness, "My Prerogative."
From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2011
The Conscience, as well as the Prerogative of a King, must be restrained or loosened as is best for his People.
From A Character of King Charles the Second by Halifax, George Savile, Marquis of
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
