approve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to speak or think favorably of; pronounce or consider agreeable or good; judge favorably.
to approve the policies of the administration.
- Synonyms:
- esteem, appreciate
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to consent or agree to.
Father approved our plan to visit Chicago.
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to confirm or sanction formally; ratify.
The Senate promptly approved the bill.
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Obsolete.
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to demonstrate; show.
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to make good; attest.
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to prove by trial.
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to convict.
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verb (used without object)
verb
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to consider fair, good, or right; commend (a person or thing)
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(tr) to authorize or sanction
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obsolete (tr) to demonstrate or prove by trial
verb
Synonym Usage
Approve, commend, praise mean to have, and usually to express, a favorable opinion. To approve is to have a very good opinion, expressed or not, of someone or something: He approved the new plan. To commend is to speak or write approvingly, often formally and publicly, to congratulate or honor for something done: to commend a worker for a job well done. To praise is to speak or write, often in glowing and emotional terms, about one or more persons, actions, plans, etc.: to praise someone's courage.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reapproveverb
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approvednessnoun
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self-approvingadjective
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preapprovverb
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unapprovedadjective
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nonapprovedadjective
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approvedlyadverb
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unapprovingadjective
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self-approvedadjective
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approvinglyadverb
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well-approvedadjective
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unapprovinglyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has approvedperfect 3rd person singular
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have approvedperfect
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is approvingprogressive 3rd person singular
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approvessingular 3rd person
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am approvingprogressive 1st person singular
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are approvingprogressive
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has been approvingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been approvingperfect progressive
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approvingparticiple
Past
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had approvedperfect
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was approvingprogressive singular
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were approvingprogressive plural
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approvedparticiple
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had been approvingperfect progressive
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approvedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of approve
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English a(p)proven, from Anglo-French, Old French aprover, from Latin approbāre, equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + probāre “to prove ”
Explanation
When you take your new love to meet your parents, you hope that they approve of your choice in partners, but when your date starts eating with his hands at dinner, chances are pretty slim. Approve was first used like to mean "prove" or "show"––think, "The proof is in the pudding." Now, approve means to officially agree. You might need the principal to sign off on, or approve, any purchase of new materials for the classroom. Congress can also approve a bill or budget in this way. It’s important to remember that, like apple and appropriate, approve is spelled with a double “p.”
Vocabulary lists containing approve
List 7
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 21–August 27, 2021
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 1–October 7, 2022
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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.
The proposed Westside affordable housing project known as Venice Dell has seen it all: neighborhood uproar, lawsuits, clashing city directives to alternatively approve and deny.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
In May, Canada became the first country in the G7 to approve a generic semaglutide injection, intended for type 2 diabetes patients but can be prescribed off-label for weight loss.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
He has said his administration “will not approve windmills” and has also called them “ugly.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
Robinson voiced his concerns to his supervisor, who told him that he had to approve it.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
There was a sense of justice in my father’s upright mind which rendered it necessary that he should approve highly to love strongly.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
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.
