Meanings
comparative more authoritatively · superlative most authoritatively
- In an authoritative manner; with authority.
He has, of course, the right to speak authoritatively, and he laughs at my theory that there was a crack in Pansay's head and a little bit of the Dark World came through and pressed him to death.
1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Phantom Rickshaw”, in The Phantom 'Rickshaw and Other Tales, Allahabad: A.H. Wheeler and Co., page 81 more example
The inability of Trump's own spokespeople to speak authoritatively on the president's thinking and actions -- a challenge even Trump himself has acknowledged -- has left the White House with an enormous credibility gap, and has tarnished the reputations of many of its most visible spokespeople.
2017 May 16, Dylan Byers, “Does anyone in Trump's White House have credibility?”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2025
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbin an authoritative and magisterial manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishauctoritatively
- Englishauthoritatively
From Middle English auctoritatively, auctoritativeli; compare Medieval Latin auctoritātīve; equivalent to authoritative + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan autoritàriament
- autoritàriamentin an authoritative manner
Czech autoritativně
- autoritativněin an authoritative manner
Esperanto aŭtoritate
- aŭtoritatein an authoritative manner
Finnish auktoritatiivisesti
- auktoritatiivisestiin an authoritative manner
Hungarian mérvadóan
- mérvadóanin an authoritative manner
Italian autorevolmente
- autorevolmentein an authoritative manner
Polish autorytatywnie
- autorytatywniein an authoritative manner
Spanish con autoridad, autoritativamente
- con autoridadin an authoritative manner
- autoritativamentein an authoritative manner
Cite this entry
authoritatively. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/authoritatively
“authoritatively.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/authoritatively. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “authoritatively,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/authoritatively.
Source: authoritatively on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.