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having due ; having the sanction or weight of :
an authoritative opinion.
substantiated or supported by documentary evidence and accepted by most in a field:
an authoritative edition of Shakespeare; an authoritative treatment of a subject.
having an air of ; accustomed to exercising ; positive; peremptory; dictatorial:
said with an authoritative air.
Contemporary Examples

Anne Sinclair was as unimpeachable as Barbara Walters, as luscious as Diane Sawyer, as authoritative as both.
The DSK Maid Tells All July 25, 2011

Coren, a striking blond with an authoritative manner and a deep voice, stayed with the story all night and well into the next day.
CNN’s Overnight Sydney Star Lloyd Grove December 15, 2014

Yes, all of these claims have been made by authoritative Mormons over the years.
The Core Mormon Teaching the LDS Church Didn’t Jettison Jay Michaelson April 6, 2014

Alan Brinkley has worked long and hard to write this ambitious, authoritative, and enjoyable biography.
The Magazine King Harold Evans April 30, 2010

The most authoritative study of Mexican immigration over time has found exactly the same thing.
You Can’t Wish Away the Facts About Immigration Amnesty David Frum May 8, 2013

Historical Examples

By the time he was able to walk and take care of himself, he was completely spoiled, selfish, and authoritative.
The Lani People J. F. Bone

“But you must understand this,” Mary went on, with an authoritative note in her voice.
Within the Law Marvin Dana

It is the greatest mistake to impose them upon children as authoritative and divine all at once.
Memoirs of Arthur Hamilton, B. A. Of Trinity College, Cambridge Arthur Christopher Benson

There is no authoritative account of the construction of the Baltimore monument.
Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia Various

His personal knowledge on the subject, and his access to valuable unpublished documents, give it authoritative value.
Library of the World’s Best literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 12 Various

adjective
recognized or accepted as being true or reliable: an authoritative article on drugs
exercising or asserting authority; commanding: an authoritative manner
possessing or supported by authority; official: an authoritative communiqué
adj.

c.1600, “dictatorial” (a sense now restricted to authoritarian), from Medieval Latin authoritativus (see authority). Meaning “possessing authority” is recorded from 1650s; that of “proceeding from proper authority” is from 1809. Related: Authoritatively; authoritativeness.