prerogative

noun

pre·​rog·​a·​tive pri-ˈrä-gə-tiv 

1

a

: an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege: such as

(1)

: one belonging to an office or an official body

(2)

: one belonging to a person, group, or class of individuals

(3)

: one possessed by a nation as an attribute of sovereignty

b

: the discretionary power inhering in the British Crown

2

: a distinctive excellence

prerogatived

pri-ˈrä-gə-tivd 

adjective

Did you know?

In ancient Rome, voting at legal assemblies was done by group, with the majority in a group determining the vote. The group chosen to vote first on an issue was called the praerogātīva, a word rooted in Latin rogāre, “to ask; to ask an assembly for a decision.” When English adopted prerogative from Latin, via Anglo-French, in the 15th century, it took only the idea of the privilege the ancient Roman voting group enjoyed; the English word referred then, as it also does now, to an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege. Often such a prerogative is tied to an office, official body, or nation, but as Bobby Brown reminded us in his 1988 song “My Prerogative,” the right to live as you like can also be referred to as a prerogative.

Synonyms

• appanage
• apanage
• birthright
• right

Examples of prerogative in a Sentence

That sense that the future may not last for long is often assumed to be a prerogative of youth, the dialectical complement of another misconception the young are noted for—the conviction that they are immortal. —Thomas M. Disch, Atlantic, February 1992

More important than any of this, he offered himself as an incarnation of constitutional propriety so that, temperamentally stubborn, he was careful never to exceed the limits of a prerogative overexploited by the later Stuarts. —Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988

The secularization of the Presidency is indispensable for the reassertion of congressional and popular prerogative. —Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Cycles of American History, 1986

If you'd rather sell the tickets than use them, that's your prerogative.

It's a writer's prerogative to decide the fate of her characters.

Recent Examples on the Web

But how exactly state judges should balance their prerogative to run their courtrooms without federal interference and federal officials' prerogative to enforce immigration law remains ambiguous. —Tovia Smith, NPR, 17 May 2025

With countless examples like St. Louis, Congress should consider legislation to help empower criminal juries to exercise their full measure of powers and prerogatives and better equip them to play their historic injustice-preventing role in our breathtakingly punitive criminal justice system. —Mike Fox, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025

An indifference to fortune was, paradoxically, the prerogative of the fortunate. —January Lavoy Krish Seenivasan Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 3 May 2025

Share stories that celebrate how honest feedback prevented problems or sparked innovation while respecting leadership prerogatives. —Tracy Lawrence, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English prerogatif, prerogative, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin praerogātīva "the century (Roman voting unit) on which the lot fell to vote first, the verdict of that century (seen as predicting the outcome of the whole vote), omen, prior choice, prior right or claim," (short for centuria praerogātīva "century voting first"), from feminine of praerogātīvus "appointed by lot to vote first," from prae- pre- + rogātus, past participle of rogāre "to ask, ask (an assembly for a decision)" + -īvus -ive — more at rogation

Note: Latin praerogātīvus was probably formed in the manner indicated, rather than as a derivative of praerogāre "to ask or propose beforehand, pay in advance," not attested before the 4th century a.d.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for prerogative

• interrogative

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Kids Definition

prerogative

noun

pre·​rog·​a·​tive pri-ˈräg-ət-iv 

: a special right or privilege given because of one's rank or position