Authorize is a verb meaning to give official approval or permission for something, often in a formal or legal context. It can also refer to granting someone the authority to act on behalf of another. In everyday use, it typically appears as “authorize” in phrases like “authorize a payment” or “authorize access.” The word carries a formal tone and implies recognized, legitimate consent or power.
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"The board voted to authorize the project after reviewing the budget."
"She cannot sign the contract until her supervisor authorizes it."
"The bank will authorize the transaction once all checks are complete."
"To continue, you must authorize the payment through the secure portal."
Authorize derives from the Old French autoriser, itself from Late Latin auctorizare, meaning to increase or empower by granting authority. The Latin root auctor means “author, creator, originator,” linked to auctor (originator) and auctoritas (authority). The prefix ad- (toward) and suffix -ize (to make or become) appear as the word entered Middle English via French in the 14th–15th centuries, carrying the sense of bestowing official power or permission. Early senses revolved around legal or clerical authority; over time, usage broadened to include formal approval in administrative, corporate, and digital contexts. The pronunciation stabilized to /ˈɔː.θə.raɪz/ in US and UK English, with regional variations in vowel length and stress. First known print attestations appear in legal documents and administrative manuals of medieval Europe, then expanding in the Renaissance as bureaucratic administration grew. In modern English, authorize is a common verb across business, law, technology, and governance, used both transitively (authorize someone) and in passive constructions (to be authorized). The semantic arc traces from “granting authority” to “granting permission,” reflecting a shift from codified power to practical permission in everyday administrative activities.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "authorize" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "authorize" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "authorize"
-rce sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Author-ize is pronounced with primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈɔː.θə.raɪz/ (US/UK). Break it into three segments: AU-tho- rize, where the “au” sounds like the “awe” in “awe” and the ending sounds like “rise.” Your mouth starts rounded for /ɔː/, then a schwa for /ə/, and ends with /raɪz/. In rapid speech, you might reduce to /ˈɔː.θəˌraɪz/, but clarity should keep the tri-syllabic rhythm in careful speech. For audio reference, listen to authoritative pronunciations on Pronounce or Cambridge.
Common errors: 1) Merging the vowels into a flat /æ/ or /ɜː/ instead of /ɔː/ in the first syllable, which sounds non-native. 2) Dropping the middle schwa /ə/, giving /ˈɔː.θraɪz/ or /ˈɔːˌraɪz/, which changes rhythm. 3) Misplacing stress, saying /ˌæˈθɔːraɪz/ or similar. Correction: keep three distinct syllables AU-tho- rize, with /ɔː/ then /ə/ then /raɪz/ and primary stress on the first syllable. Practice slow and then speed up while maintaining the three segments.
In US and UK English, the primary stress remains on the first syllable, with /ɔː/ or /ɔː/ in AU and /ˈɔː.θə.raɪz/. Non-rhotic accents (many UK varieties) keep the /r/ muted in syllables not followed by a vowel, but in US, the /r/ is pronounced in all environments, affecting the /raɪz/ cluster slightly. Australian English tends toward a broader /ɔː/ with a flatter vowel in the second syllable and a clear final /raɪz/. Overall, the most noticeable difference is rhoticity and vowel quality; the three-syllable rhythm stays intact.
The difficulty lies in three aspects: the long first vowel /ɔː/, the intermediate schwa /ə/ that’s quick in connected speech, and the final /raɪz/ cluster where the /r/ can be subtle or strong depending on accent. Coordinating tongue height and lip rounding across three syllables while preserving stress is tricky, especially in fast speech. Practice with slow, deliberate articulation, then blend into natural tempo while keeping clear vowel transitions and final /z/ voice. IPA cues help: /ˈɔː. θə. raɪz/; keep /θ/ as a voiceless dental fricative.
A nuanced point is the middle /θ/ (th in “th” sound). It can be tempered in fluent speech to a light /θ/ or even a glottal stop in very casual speech, but for clarity you should articulate it as a crisp voiceless dental fricative /θ/. Ensure the following /ə/ is short and unstressed, then the final /raɪz/ uses a tense, rising diphthong. Stress remains almost exclusively on the first syllable, which drives the rhythm of the sentence.
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