approbation
Americannoun
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approval; commendation.
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official approval or sanction.
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Obsolete. conclusive proof.
noun
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commendation; praise
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official recognition or approval
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an obsolete word for proof
Other Word Forms
- approbative adjective
- preapprobation noun
- self-approbation noun
- subapprobation noun
Etymology
Origin of approbation
1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin approbātiōn- (stem of approbātiō ). See approbate, -ion
Explanation
Approbation is a formal word for approval or praise. Approbation is like getting the nod in a big way. Politicians rely on the public’s approbation to get elected. How is it possible that approbation means approval when probation is a form of being in trouble? Probation is a testing period, to see if you can be good. Approbation means it's all good. Or you can remember this rhyme: "Filled with approbation, the audience gave a standing ovation."
Vocabulary lists containing approbation
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Things Fall Apart
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Grade 11, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rather, a pattern emerges of a man who was deeply ambitious, massively concerned with his reputation, and in regular search of the public approbation, even as he denied such desires.”
From Slate • Feb. 16, 2026
It later came out that National City’s efforts to lend money on stocks had the Federal Reserve’s internal approbation, not its opposition.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
He'll do a lot of damage before he's finished — but he will never get the popular approbation he craves, now or in the future.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2025
It’s associated with pleasure and the expectation or experience of a reward, which can include the surmounting of a threat “such as overcoming fear, winning a race, receiving respect and approbation from others,” Spiegel says.
From National Geographic • Oct. 16, 2023
“I with cheerfulness give this testimony of my approbation of their proceedings,” Clarkson wrote.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
