authority

Noun

• an authoritative written work
  • this book is the final authority on the life of Milton
    

• official permission or approval
  • authority for the program was renewed several times
    

• an administrative unit of government
  • the Central Intelligence Agency
    
  • the Census Bureau
    
  • Office of Management and Budget
    
  • Tennessee Valley Authority
    

• freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
  • his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular
    
  • after that failure he lost his confidence
    
  • she spoke with authority
    

• an expert whose views are taken as definitive
  • he is an authority on corporate law
    

• (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others
  • the authorities have issued a curfew
    

• the power or right to give orders or make decisions
  • he has the authority to issue warrants
    
  • deputies are given authorization to make arrests
    
  • a place of potency in the state
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  authorization , authorisation , sanction , agency , federal agency , government agency , bureau , office , assurance , self-assurance , confidence , self-confidence , sureness , potency , dominance , say-so