Search

not false or copied; genuine; real:
an authentic antique.
having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified:
an authentic document of the Middle Ages; an authentic work of the old master.
entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy:
an authentic report on poverty in Africa.
Law. executed with all due formalities:
an authentic deed.
Music.

(of a church mode) having a range extending from the final to the octave above.
Compare .
(of a cadence) consisting of a dominant harmony followed by a tonic.

Obsolete, .
Contemporary Examples

She proves that by authentically following a strong personal sense of style its hard to go too far wrong.
Dissecting Cressida Bonas’s Style: How Prince Harry’s Girl Dresses Tom Sykes October 14, 2013

This is a fast-paced, engaging novel of pop-culture and big ideas, authentically subversive, and thoroughly American.
A Novel for Our Time Claire Howorth April 29, 2010

His was created, nurtured, and authentically managed by Noah himself.
What Are Your Twitter Followers Worth, and Who Owns Them? Brian Ries December 27, 2011

[Laughs] authentically, Shonda Rhimes and the writers take Cyrus into a little bit of the seventh ring of hell over it.
Scandal’s Most Scandalous Character: Jeff Perry on Playing Cyrus Kevin Fallon February 27, 2014

At the time, I thought (with authentically teenage self-absorption) that I was alone.
Dad-olescence: The New Midlife Crisis Sean Macaulay October 26, 2009

Historical Examples

The greatest length to which they are authentically known to attain is about twelve feet.
Sea Monsters Unmasked and Sea Fables Explained Henry Lee

In him had been authentically born the mania for conformity.
Erik Dorn Ben Hecht

I have not authentically heard whether the Prince of Wales was of the party.
Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George the Third, Volume 2 (of 2) The Duke of Buckingham

Not a sentence that fell from his lips has been authentically recorded.
Ephemera Critica John Churton Collins

In short, I authentically feel indifferent to money; would not go this way or that to gain more money.’
Thomas Carlyle Hector Carsewell Macpherson

adjective
of undisputed origin or authorship; genuine: an authentic signature
accurate in representation of the facts; trustworthy; reliable: an authentic account
(of a deed or other document) duly executed, any necessary legal formalities having been complied with
(music)

using period instruments and historically researched scores and playing techniques in an attempt to perform a piece as it would have been played at the time it was written
(in combination): an authentic-instrument performance

(music)

(of a mode as used in Gregorian chant) commencing on the final and ending an octave higher
(of a cadence) progressing from a dominant to a tonic chord

Compare plagal
adj.

mid-14c., “authoritative,” from Old French autentique (13c., Modern French authentique) “authentic; canonical,” and directly from Medieval Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos “original, genuine, principal,” from authentes “one acting on one’s own authority,” from autos “self” (see auto-) + hentes “doer, being,” from PIE *sene- “to accomplish, achieve.” Sense of “entitled to acceptance as factual” is first recorded mid-14c.

Traditionally (at least since the 18c.), authentic implies that the contents of the thing in question correspond to the facts and are not fictitious; genuine implies that the reputed author is the real one; though this distinction is not etymological and is not always now recognized.