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Definition of "authorize" []

  • To grant authority or power to. (verb-transitive)
  • To give permission for; sanction: the city agency that authorizes construction projects. (verb-transitive)
  • To be sufficient grounds for; justify. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "authorize" in a sentence
  • "I won't accept your premise and won't indulge you any further on this until you respond to my initial question of "would you 'authorize' - were it your decision to make - internment camps, and incarceration based solely on that profiling?""
  • "But a question for you: would you "authorize" - were it your decision to make - internment camps, and incarceration based solely on that profiling?"
  • "But because the power of exclusion of aliens is also inherent in the executive department of the sovereign, Congress may in broad terms authorize the executive to exercise the power, e.g., as was done here, for the best interests of the country during a time of national emergency."