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

No confidentiality, no authentication These signals aren't encrypted to provide either confidentiality or authentication. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 23 Jan. 2025

Phishing-resistant multifactor authentication can help prevent account takeovers even in situations where attackers have access to user credentials. —Perry Carpenter, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

This lack of transparency of all software makes interoperable secure authentication systems insufficient to fully resolve these issues. —Sean Hollister, The Verge, 22 Jan. 2025

The result will generate and store the private authentication key for a website or online service on the device, ensuring that the login credentials cannot be stolen or intercepted through phishing attacks. —Michael Kan, PCMAG, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

authentic(ate) + -ation

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing authentication

• multifactor authentication
• two-factor authentication