licensed
adjective · verb
Form of license , past tense of license.
Simple meaning
To give a formal authorization.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lysnstIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlaɪsn̩st
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
of a person or enterprise
Having been issued with a licence (by the required authority)
“Only licensed exterminators can purchase rat poison in this state.”
of an activity
Authorized by licence
“Even licensed fishing has a major effect on the fish population in the river.”
verb
past tense of license
Authorize officially.
“I am licensed to practice law in this state.”
past tense of license
To give a formal (usually written) authorization.
“It was decided to license Wikipedia under the GFDL.”
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of a person or enterprise) having been issued with a licence (by the required authority)
Used this way, licensed is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Only licensed exterminators can purchase rat poison in this state.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Having been issuedadjective
“Only licensed exterminators can purchase rat poison in this state.”
Authorizedadjective
“Even licensed fishing has a major effect on the fish population in the river.”
Authorizeverb
“I am licensed to practice law in this state.”
Giveverb
“It was decided to license Wikipedia under the GFDL.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A legal document giving official permission to do something.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A nurse who has enough training to be licensed by a state to provide routine care for the sick.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A fee paid to the government for the privilege of being licensed to do something (as selling liquor or practicing medicine).
A fee paid to the government for the privilege of being licensed to do something (as selling liquor or practicing medicine).
A fee paid to the government for the privilege of being licensed to do something (as selling liquor or practicing medicine).
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: having been issued with a licence (by the required authority)
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.