empowered

/ɪmˈpaʊərd/

Someone who's empowered has the ability or strength to do something legally or legitimately. An empowered student-teacher might have been given the authority to grade the class's math tests.

When a person who's in charge grants you permission to run things or make decisions, you can describe yourself as empowered. You're empowered if you are promoted to the captain of your soccer team, for example. As a legal term, empowered signifies true power: a judge is empowered, often deciding whether a defendant will spend his life in prison. Empowered combines the Latin roots in, "in or into," and potere, "powerful."

Definitions of empowered

1. adjective

   invested with legal power or official authority especially as symbolized by having a scepter
   synonyms: sceptered, sceptred

   authorised, authorized

   endowed with authority
2. adjective

   having confidence, strength, and the capacity for self-determination