prerogative — English Dictionary

Noun

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

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   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.

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

   "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 […]"

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   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.

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

   "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."

   The problem is — like with the Harris border czar reference, which is still omitted from the czar article (and will almost certainly stay that way) — the consensus it achieves often lines up with the prerogatives of the Democratic Party and the media establishment that supports it.

2. A right, especially when due to one's position or role. An exclusive hereditary or official right or privilege.

3. A right, especially when due to one's position or role. An exclusive hereditary or official right or privilege. A right or power that is exclusive to a monarch etc, especially such a power to make a decision or judgement.

   Examples

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

   More examples (2)

   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.

   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?"

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

Adjective

1. Having a hereditary or official right or privilege.

2. Characterized by lawless state actions, as in a prerogative state.

   Examples

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   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.

Noun

1. a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right)

   Synonyms

   privilegeperquisiteexclusive right

   Broader terms

   right

   Examples

   suffrage was the prerogative of white adult males