authority

authority主要指“有权作决定、发命令或让人信服的力量”，也可指行使这种权力的官方机构，或值得信赖的权威来源。

💡 记忆钩子

把authority想成“让别人听从或相信的分量”：掌权者有authority，可以发令；官方机构可称authorities；某位专家或书籍有authority，表示它足够权威、值得相信；具体获准做某事，则是得到authority。

📝 学习建议

不要把authority只理解成“权威人士”；它最核心的意思是“权力或权限”，语境常决定是权力、官方人员，还是可信的专业权威。
authority和author（作者）词源有关，但现代英语中authority不表示“作者”。

📖 中文释义

noun

core 权力；职权

📖 指某人因职位、法律或职责而拥有的发令、制定规则或要求别人服从的权力。它强调“谁有资格决定或强制执行”，不一定表示这个决定本身正确。

💡 常用“have the authority to do something”表示“有权做某事”，也常说“within someone’s authority”。不要把它和单纯的能力混淆；有能力做某事，不代表有authority批准或命令这件事。

uncountable

Only the manager has the authority to approve the refund.

只有经理有权批准退款。

The law gives local councils authority over parking rules.

法律赋予地方议会制定停车规定的权力。
core 当局；官方人员

📖 指占据官方权力职位的人或机构的合称，尤其常指警察、政府部门等负责处理事务和执行规则的当局。

💡 常见结构是“the authorities”或“authorities say/confirm that...”，通常用复数表示相关官方人员或部门。它一般不是指某一位普通上级；中文里的“有关部门”在英语中常可译为the authorities。

countable plural uncountable

The authorities closed the road after the landslide.

山体滑坡后，当局封闭了这条道路。
core 权威来源；权威专家

📖 指在某个领域被认为最可靠、最有资格提供信息的人、书籍或其他来源。这里的authority不是发号施令，而是凭知识和专业性让人信服。

💡 常用“an authority on/in a subject”表示“某领域的权威”，也可说“a leading authority”。修饰人时通常指专家，修饰书籍或资料时指可靠的权威来源，不要误解为政府机关。

countable

She is a leading authority on coastal wildlife.

她是海岸野生动物方面的权威专家。

This handbook is regarded as an authority on traditional architecture.

这本手册被视为传统建筑方面的权威资料。
common 权威性；可信声望

📖 表示某人或某来源作为专家而具有的可信度、说服力和专业声望，也可以指某人自称拥有这种地位。它描述的是“被相信的分量”，而不是实际的行政权力。

💡 常用“lend/give authority to something”表示“增强某事的权威性或可信度”，也可说“speak with authority”。不要把“有权威性”自动理解成“有权发布命令”，这层意思要看上下文。

uncountable

Her years of research give her opinions considerable authority.

她多年的研究经历使她的观点很有权威性。
common 正式许可；授权

📖 指由有权力的个人、机构或政府正式给予的行动许可，也就是“获准代表某方做某事”。它可以看作authority这一核心权力被正式授予某人使用。

💡 常用“authority to do something”或“be given/granted authority to do something”。这里通常不说“an authority”来表示一份许可证；实际文件往往用permission、permit或authorization，具体选择取决于场景。

uncountable

The contractor was given authority to enter the site.

承包商获准进入该场地。
rare 公共事业管理机构

📖 指政府设立、负责经营某项公共服务或公共设施并通过收入维持运作的机构；名称中的authority体现其法定管理权。

💡 这种用法多出现在机构正式名称中，常见于交通、港口或其他公共设施管理机构。遇到专名时不要按普通“权威”翻译，而应根据机构职能译为“管理局”或“管理机构”。

countable

authorities plural

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 7 组

official permission or approval

同义词集: authority authorization authorisation sanction

authority for the program was renewed several times

上位: permission

the power or right to give orders or make decisions; ;

同义词集: authority authorization authorisation potency dominance say-so

he has the authority to issue warrants

deputies are given authorization to make arrests

a place of potency in the state

上位: control 下位: command, lordship, muscle, sovereignty

freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities; ;

同义词集: assurance self-assurance confidence self-confidence authority sureness

his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular

after that failure he lost his confidence

she spoke with authority

上位: certainty

an authoritative written work

同义词集: authority

this book is the final authority on the life of Milton

上位: book

an administrative unit of government; ; ;

同义词集: agency federal agency government agency bureau office authority

the Central Intelligence Agency

the Census Bureau

Office of Management and Budget

Tennessee Valley Authority

下位: ai, air force, army, army intelligence, bureau of diplomatic security, bureau of intelligence and research, cdc, center for disease control and prevention, darpa, defense advanced research projects agency, ds, faa, fda, federal aviation administration, federal housing administration, fha, food and drug administration, gao, government accounting office, immigration and naturalization service, inr, ins, internal revenue service, irs, national geospatial-intelligence agency, national institute of standards and technology, national institutes of health, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, naval special warfare, navy, nga, nih, nist, noaa, nonproliferation center, npc, nsw, occupational safety and health administration, office of naval intelligence, oni, organ, osha, transportation security administration, tsa, u. s. air force, u. s. army, united states air force, united states army, united states government accounting office, united states navy, us air force, us army, us navy, usa, usaf, usn

an expert whose views are taken as definitive

同义词集: authority

he is an authority on corporate law

上位: expert 下位: adviser, advisor, cognoscente, connoisseur, consultant, evaluator, judge, master, professional

(usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others

同义词集: authority

the authorities have issued a curfew

上位: individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul 下位: allocator, distributor, pacha, pasha

🌳 词源

源自中古英语，经过古法语追溯到拉丁语，最初与“创始者、领袖、影响力和命令”有关；词中的字母h受到author拼写的影响。

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti Proto-Italic *augejō Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin auctōritāsbor. Old French autoritébor. Middle English auctorite English authority From Middle English auctorite, autorite (“authority, book or quotation that settles an argument”), from Old French auctorité, from Latin stem of auctōritās (“invention, advice, opinion, influence, command”), from auctor (“master, leader, author”). For the presence of the h, compare the etymology of author.

🔄 变式

authorities plural

🏷 单词标签 & 词根