Magisterial

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Magisterial \Mag`is*te"ri*al\, a. [L. magisterius magisterial.
     See {Master}.]
     1. Of or pertaining to a master or magistrate, or one in
        authority; having the manner of a magister; official;
        commanding; authoritative. Hence: Overbearing;
        dictatorial; dogmatic.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              When magisterial duties from his home
              Her father called.                    --Glover.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              We are not magisterial in opinions, nor,
              dictator-like, obtrude our notions on any man. --Sir
                                                    T. Browne.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Pretenses go a great way with men that take fair
              words and magisterial looks for current payment.
                                                    --L'Estrange.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Alchem. & Old Chem.) Pertaining to, produced by, or of
        the nature of, magistery. See {Magistery}, 2.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Authoritative; stately; august; pompous; dignified;
          lofty; commanding; imperious; lordly; proud; haughty;
          domineering; despotic; dogmatical; arrogant.
  
     Usage: {Magisterial}, {Dogmatical}, {Arrogant}. One who is
            magisterial assumes the air of a master toward his
            pupils; one who is dogmatical lays down his positions
            in a tone of authority or dictation; one who is
            arrogant insults others by an undue assumption of
            superiority. Those who have long been teachers
            sometimes acquire, unconsciously, a manner which
            borders too much on the magisterial, and may be
            unjustly construed as dogmatical, or even arrogant.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  magisterial
       adj 1: of or relating to a magistrate; "official magisterial
              functions"
       2: offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually
          unwarranted power; "an autocratic person"; "autocratic
          behavior"; "a bossy way of ordering others around"; "a
          rather aggressive and dominating character"; "managed the
          employees in an aloof magisterial way"; "a swaggering
          peremptory manner" [syn: {autocratic}, {bossy}, {dominating},
           {high-and-mighty}, {peremptory}]
       3: used of a person's appearance or behavior; befitting an
          eminent person; "his distinguished bearing"; "the
          monarch's imposing presence"; "she reigned in magisterial
          beauty" [syn: {distinguished}, {imposing}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  163 Moby Thesaurus words for "magisterial":
     Daedalian, U, absolute, absolutist, absolutistic, accepted, adept,
     adroit, approved, apt, arbitrary, arch, aristocratic, arrogant,
     artistic, august, authentic, authoritarian, authoritative,
     autocratic, banner, bloated, bossy, bravura, brilliant, capital,
     cardinal, cathedral, central, champion, chief, clean, clever,
     coordinated, courtly, crack, crackerjack, crowning, cunning, cute,
     daedal, deft, despotic, dexterous, dextrous, dictatorial,
     dignified, diplomatic, disdainful, dogmatic, dominant, domineering,
     elitist, ex cathedra, excellent, expert, fancy, feudal, first,
     focal, foremost, good, goodish, graceful, grand, grave, great,
     grinding, handy, headmost, hegemonic, high and mighty, high-handed,
     hubristic, imperative, imperial, imperious, important, imposing,
     ingenious, insolent, judicative, judicatorial, judicatory,
     judicial, judiciary, jurisdictive, kingly, leading, lordly,
     magistral, main, majestic, master, masterful, masterly, monocratic,
     neat, no mean, noble, official, oppressive, overbearing,
     overruling, paramount, peremptory, politic, pontifical,
     predominant, preeminent, preponderant, prevailing, primal, primary,
     prime, princely, principal, professional, proficient, puffy,
     queenly, quick, quite some, ranking, ready, received, regal,
     repressive, resourceful, royal, ruling, sedate, self-important,
     severe, skillful, slick, sober, solemn, some, sovereign, standard,
     star, stately, statesmanlike, statuesque, stellar, strict, stuffy,
     stylish, supercilious, supereminent, suppressive, tactful,
     the compleat, the complete, topflight, tyrannical, tyrannous,
     venerable, virtuoso, well-done, workmanlike, worthy