prerogative

plural prerogatives · alternative obsolete prærogative

1. A right, especially when due to one's position or role.

   The best thing about being a woman Is the prerogative to have a little fun and...

   1997, Shania Twain, Mutt Lange, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”, in Come On Over, performed by Shania Twain

   5 more examples

   I hear my chair in the hall; and to keep Lord Marchmont waiting, when he has announced his intention of supping at home, far exceeds my prerogative; so good night, dearest, you will either see or hear from me to-morrow.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Reminiscences”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 206

   "Ah, that's your prerogative as an Intelligence officer, Jimmy. But it's been your prerogative for weeks, months, and nothing has happened, as I told you […]"

   2002, Patrick Robinson, The Shark Mutiny, page 48

   If you want to wear your hair a certain way, that's your prerogative. You don't have to check with all your friends to make sure it's okay.

   2004, Joel Osteen, Your best life now: 7 steps to living at your full potential, page 92

   If you choose another approach — that's your prerogative. But the problem is that parents often don't realize they're making the choice […]

   2005, Tracy Hogg, Melinda Blau, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate, page 56

   "I know what is important to Sadiq [Khan, London Mayor], and I know how to explain things to him in a way that maximises our chances of getting the right thing. If he chooses not to take my advice, that is absolutely his prerogative. But he gave me the job, and I intend to pay him back by delivering what he needs."

   2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 55

   1. An exclusive hereditary or official right or privilege.
   2. A right or power that is exclusive to a monarch etc, especially such a power to make a decision or judgement.

      Despite being a constitutional monarchy, the British sovereign still retain many royal prerogatives.

      2 more examples

      The military fame of a subject was considered as an insolent invasion of the Imperial prerogative; and it became the duty, as well as interest, of every Roman general, to guard the frontiers intrusted to his care, without aspiring to conquests which might have proved no less fatal to himself than to the vanquished barbarians.

      1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1-pt i

      Lord Avonleigh had decided on taking refuge in wounded dignity, when he was again addressed by the King. "The castle holds another prisoner, to whom I intend extending the best prerogative of my crown—mercy. Will you order Robert Evelyn to be brought before me?"

      1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XLII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 352

2. A property, attribute or ability which gives one a superiority or advantage over others; an inherent advantage or privilege; a talent.

comparative more prerogative · superlative most prerogative · alternative obsolete prærogative

1. Having a hereditary or official right or privilege.
2. Characterized by lawless state actions, as in a prerogative state.

   Law-eroding prerogative developments cannot only be witnessed in hybrid regimes, but also in democratic states, which resort to reflections and practices of an ‘enemy criminal law’, and in the European Union’s recent crisis politics.

   2020, Jan Christoph Suntrup, “Between prerogative power and legality – reading Ernst Fraenkel’s The Dual State as an analytical tool for present authoritarian rule”, in Jurisprudence, volume 11, number 3, →DOI, pages 335–359