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

This includes requiring bot operators to go through authentication for high-volume scraping and API use. —Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025

Dior declined to comment, an eBay spokesperson said the company does not have an authentication process for bridal, and a source told WWD that Trump’s wedding gown was stowed away in Mar-a-Lago. —Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 1 Apr. 2025

Certificate Management Issues Digital certificates are a key resource used in PKI authentication, and they can be found everywhere. —Jason Sabin, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The real kicker is that Astaroth also grabs session cookies, which are the small bits of data that keep users logged in after authentication. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2025

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