The phrase "authority means" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when defining or explaining the concept of authority in a specific context.
Example: "In this context, authority means having the power to make decisions and enforce rules within an organization."
Alternatives: "authority refers to" or "authority signifies".
The reason is because people in government think that "authority" means "being authoritarian" – ironically enough, without being a named "author".
The cops want more money, perhaps because their diminished authority means that they can now extract less in bribes.
Rational choice theorists generally conclude that the absence of any effective higher authority means that such institutions have to be conceived as self-enforcing.
To teach with authority means that the teacher is able to impose his doctrine upon the learner under a religious and moral obligation.
The agreement is subject to approval by the Senate, although Mr. Bush's trade promotion authority means Congress can only approve or reject its language, not alter it.
We have the authority to take action, but responsible authority means not only being able to take action, but knowing when and how to take that action.
"Don't experience and authority mean anything anymore?" Alsop shouts near the end of "The Columnist".
It also created an authority meant to smoothly wind down even the largest institutions without greatly disrupting the financial system.
"What does strong authority mean in the conditions of democratic development of the country and the market economy," Mr. Shaimiyev asked in a recent interview.
Half of the tenants are elderly immigrants who lived in Russia during the Soviet era, when signing one's name to a list challenging authority meant a trip to the gulag.
Nevertheless, it is clear that there is a problem with some lawless young people, whose anarchic attitudes and complete disrespect for authority mean that no one has much idea about how to stop their antisocial behaviour.
