Unauthorized

How to spell unauthorized

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce unauthorized

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unauthorized mean?

1. adjectiveDone or existing without official permission or proper authority.

Unauthorized in a sentence

• The bank flagged an unauthorized payment on her account.

• Staff must report any unauthorized access to the building.

Where does unauthorized come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on the noun 'author', which reached English in the 1300s through Old French 'autor' from the Latin 'auctor', meaning 'originator', 'promoter', or 'one who causes something to grow', from the verb 'augere' meaning 'to increase' or 'to enlarge'. From 'author' English formed the verb 'authorize', meaning 'to give official permission or sanction', and from the early 1600s the negative form 'unauthorized' described anything done without such permission. The native prefix 'un-' simply reverses the meaning, while the ending '-ize' (spelled with a z here) marks the verb root from which the adjective is taken. The 'h' in the spelling is historical and silent in the sense that it was inserted into 'auctor' under the influence of Greek-looking words, even though the Latin original had no 'h'. That stray, soundless 'h' tucked after the 'aut' is exactly the spot writers tend to overlook.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• author (one with authority)
• -ize (verb-forming)
• -d (past participle/adjective ending)

British and American spelling

Unauthorized is the American spelling. British English spells it unauthorised.