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unauthorized

unauthorized

110 4.5
Not officially allowed to do something
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnəˈθɔːraɪzd/
  • US
translation icon : no autorizado
  • All unauthorized personnel - are warned to stay clear of this area.
  • unauthorized access
  • unauthorized copies
  • unauthorized copying

There was actually a unauthorized leak.

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Examples

  • We can't accept any unauthorized deliveries.

  • So that it is protected from unauthorized access and can be retrieved when required.

    Academic text (2011)
  • No unauthorized vehicles are allowed

  • Students who believe it is inappropriate to make unauthorized copies of software are less likely to do so.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Distribution, disclosure, reproduction, or sale of this material to unauthorized personnel is strictly prohibited.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The exact number of border crossings into the United States by unauthorized Mexicans is not known.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Second offenders under the new decree... ...will be met by state appropriation of the unauthorized vehicles.

  • Berger ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, for which he was fined $50,000 and sentenced to serve two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

  • He's stacking ratty paperbacks: cookbooks, astrology guides, and an unauthorized biography of Mamie Eisenhower.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • No unauthorized vehicles are allowed in this area.

Synonyms

unofficial
vsunauthorized
75 3.8

Not approved by the people in charge

has broader use to mean not officially permitted in many situations
ineligible
vsunauthorized
26 5.0

Not allowed to do or get something because of the rules

focuses on general lack of official permission, not on qualification rules
unsanctioned
vsunauthorized
6 7.3

Not officially allowed by the people in charge

expresses lack of official permission in general, not only specific approvals
prohibited
vsunauthorized
  • Formal
1 3.7

Not allowed by law or by an authority

means lack of permission but stronger, implying an explicit ban
unallowable
vsunauthorized
  • Formal
1 6.4

Not allowed by rules or laws

shares forbidden sense but is more about rule-based permission denial
unlicenced
vsunauthorized
  • UK
4.1

Not officially allowed by the government to sell goods or drive a vehicle

is the broader term for absence of official permission
nonlicensed
vsunauthorized
  • Formal
5.1

Not having official permission required by law to operate

refers more widely to lacking official permission, not only missing a license

Antonyms

1 3.6

Having official permission to do something

Compounds

1 6.8

Being away from an assigned place or duty without permission

How Authorized

authorized
1 3.6
permissible
37 4.1
unauthorized
  • US
110 4.5
forbidden
96 3.2

Surface Forms

unauthorized positive

Morphology

unauthorized = authorized (transparent) = un + authorize + ed

The adjective is formed by adding the productive negation prefix 'un-' to 'authorized', yielding the straightforward meaning 'not authorized'.

Etymology

Unauthorized is made from un- ('not') and authorize (to 'give official permission'), and it shares the same root as authority and author, words about having power to allow things. So, Unauthorized means 'not officially allowed'.