Meaning & use
authenticity
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Meanings
noununcountable
The fact of being genuine and not a copy or fake.
Grammar: Used without an article: the authenticity of the painting.
Patterns
- the authenticity of something
- verify the authenticity of something
Experts checked the authenticity of the signature.
The museum certified the authenticity of the ancient coin.
Doubts were raised about the authenticity of the photograph.
noununcountableapproving
The quality of being true to yourself or to a tradition, with no pretending.
Grammar: Often praises a person, food or style: a sense of authenticity.
Patterns
- a sense of authenticity
- the authenticity of something
Audiences liked the singer's honesty and authenticity.
The restaurant is known for the authenticity of its recipes.
Leaders who show authenticity earn trust more easily.
Common combinations
- verify the authenticity
- Collectors hire an expert to verify the authenticity of the card.
- question the authenticity
- Critics questioned the authenticity of the diary.
- sense of authenticity
- The village has a sense of authenticity that tourists enjoy.
- cultural authenticity
- The film was praised for its cultural authenticity.
- certificate of authenticity
- The artwork came with a certificate of authenticity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- genuineness
- Genuineness is nearly the same, but a little less common and not used in official checks.
- validity
- Validity is about being legally or logically sound, while authenticity is about being real and not fake.
- sincerity
- Sincerity describes honest feelings in a person, whereas authenticity can also describe an object.
- credibility
- Credibility means being believable, which depends on trust rather than on being original.
Opposites
Word family
- authentic adjective
- genuine and not copied
- authenticate verb
- to prove something is real
- authentically adverb
- in a genuine manner
- authentication noun
- the process of proving something is real
- inauthentic adjective
- not genuine
Commonly confused: authenticity or authority? authenticity or originality?
authenticity vs authority
Authority is power or expertise. Authenticity is being real and genuine.
authenticity vs originality
Originality means being new and not copied, while authenticity means being true and not fake.
Practice
Before buying the vase, the collector asked an expert to confirm its ____.
Choose one answer.
Authenticity is whether the vase is genuine. Authority means power, so it does not fit what the expert would confirm.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “authenticity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.