prerogative
Other forms: prerogatives
A prerogative is someone's special right or privilege. As Bobby Brown once sang, "I don't need permission / Make my own decisions / That's my prerogative."
Prerogative goes back to a Latin root for a group having the right to vote first (prae-, "pre-" + rogare, "to ask") and thus came to mean "privileged rank." In current use, it refers to a right or privilege held by any person or group. A near synonym is privilege, which puts more emphasis on the fact that others do not have it. The self-justifying phrase "That's my prerogative" (for example, in reference to changing one's mind) is quite common.
-
a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right)“suffrage was the prerogative of white adult males”
-
synonyms:
exclusive right, perquisite, privilege
-
types:
- show 4 types...
- hide 4 types...
-
easement
(law) the privilege of using something that is not your own (as using another's land as a right of way to your own land)
-
privilege of the floor
the right to be admitted onto the floor of a legislative assembly while it is in session
-
public easement
any easement enjoyed by the public in general (as the public's right to use public streets)
-
right of way
the privilege of someone to pass over land belonging to someone else
-
type of:
-
right
an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
Vocabulary lists containing prerogative
In this collection of twelve essays, the leader of New England's transcendentalist movement shares his philosophical ideas on different aspects of mid-nineteenth-century life. Read the full text here.
After her twin sister becomes a social media star, eighteen-year-old Moon goes on a journey of self discovery during a summer road trip across the U.S.
Following the death of her father, twelve-year-old Ophelia discovers that she can talk to ghosts and that not all ghosts are as nice as they seem.
Look up prerogative for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
