authentication

noun

au·​then·​ti·​ca·​tion ə-ˌthen-ti-ˈkā-shən 

ȯ-

plural authentications

: an act, process, or method of showing something (such as an identity, a piece of art, or a financial transaction) to be real, true, or genuine : the act or process of authenticating something

Historically, the authentication of art fell to connoisseurs …

—Colette Bancroft

Encryption and decryption, combined with user authentication, ensure that only intended recipients read the messages.

—Sal Ricciardi

Mostly, notaries have to be adept at the authentication arts. In an era of multiple-personality disorder, cross-dressing, sex-change surgery and bogus IDs, people aren't always who they appear to be. On the notary public rests the responsibility to verify a person's true identity and attest to it.

—Colette Bancroft

Giving users a way to prove that they're being harassed with, say, a screenshot or some other form of authentication could help Twitter catch bad actors, even after they've covered their tracks.

—Issie Lapowsky

—often used before another noun

authentication codes

authentication techniques

authentication keys

Examples of authentication in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Freezing your credit, using strong passwords, turning on multifactor authentication and watching your accounts all help. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026

The basics include creating hard-to-guess passwords, using multifactor authentication when possible and monitoring online accounts for any suspicious activity. —ABC News, 8 May 2026

Experts urge stronger authentication Singleton said people should never share authentication codes over the phone and encouraged everyone to enable multi‑factor authentication whenever possible. —Marissa Armas, CBS News, 8 May 2026

That dispenses with the need to verify a password with any form of multifactor authentication and closes the risk of being fooled by a lookalike phishing site. —Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

authentic(ate) + -ation

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing authentication

• multifactor authentication
• two-factor authentication

Rhymes for authentication

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration