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

Depending on the use case, that information may include security architectures, cryptographic implementations, authentication and access-control logic, vulnerability remediation code, trade secrets, and other proprietary business logic. —Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 30 Apr. 2026

Stateside, apparel authentication remains heavily concentrated in the country, though accounting for the vast majority of volume. —Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 30 Apr. 2026

The keys also support passkey storage, Apple ID logins, U2F, and smart card authentication (PIV). —Kim Key, PC Magazine, 28 Apr. 2026

That intrusion began with phishing calls to the company’s technology help desk by hackers who pretended to be employees requesting a reset of their authentication credentials. —Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026

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