approve
Americanverb (used with object)
-
approves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approved,
past participle, past
-
approving
present participle
-
to speak or think favorably of; pronounce or consider agreeable or good; judge favorably.
to approve the policies of the administration.
- Synonyms:
- esteem, appreciate
-
to consent or agree to.
Father approved our plan to visit Chicago.
-
to confirm or sanction formally; ratify.
The Senate promptly approved the bill.
-
Obsolete.
-
to demonstrate; show.
-
to make good; attest.
-
to prove by trial.
-
to convict.
-
verb (used without object)
-
approves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approved,
past participle, past
-
approving
present participle
verb
-
to consider fair, good, or right; commend (a person or thing)
-
(tr) to authorize or sanction
-
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
-
approvednessnoun
-
preapprovverb
-
reapproveverb
-
nonapprovedadjective
-
self-approvedadjective
-
self-approvingadjective
-
unapprovedadjective
-
unapprovingadjective
-
well-approvedadjective
-
approvedlyadverb
-
approvinglyadverb
-
unapprovinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
approvesimple
-
approvessimple
-
have approvedperfect
-
has approvedperfect
-
am approvingprogressive
-
are approvingprogressive
-
is approvingprogressive
-
have been approvingperfect progressive
-
has been approvingperfect progressive
Past
-
approvedsimple
-
had approvedperfect
-
was approvingprogressive
-
were approvingprogressive
-
had been approvingperfect progressive
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 21–August 27, 2021
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 1–October 7, 2022
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
If a majority votes to stay, Smith says she won't approve another referendum.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Maher said there has been "quite a bit of activity" in state legislatures to approve and reauthorise other methods of execution since Trump began expressing enthusiasm for the death penalty.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
It’s still not clear how many public-utility commissions will ultimately approve of the requests.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
The ministry said it required FlyDubai to assign pilots from countries with diplomatic relations with Israel and conduct background checks, and didn’t itself check or approve Hammami.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“But I want to tell you. Usually people who don’t approve of what you do never wonder or care why you did it. I appreciate your wanting to know.”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
“Our local police department further reviews and approves each stop on the map to ensure everyone’s safety.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Plus, the FDA approves a milestone cancer drug and Google moves its AI responsibility team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
And the convention approves this unanimously without noted debate because it’s so freaking obvious, right?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
The emergency application comes one week after an appeals court ordered construction to stop until Congress approves, upholding a ruling won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued the administration last year.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
“I don’t particularly care what my father approves of any longer.”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
“That money was proposed by Mayor Bass and voted and approved by Councilmember Nithya Raman,” said Turner, who runs Million Dollar Hoods, which seeks to map the impact of mass incarceration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Congress approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday abolishing Brazil's six-day working week, a flagship Lula campaign promise that will give employees two paid days off without cutting their wages.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The number of units with approved building permits but not yet started increased 1.1% month-to-month to 143,929 units in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The therapy, which was approved in May, works in patients with a specific genetic mutation called ESR1 who have failed hormone therapy, which represents around 1% of all newly diagnosed breast-cancer patients globally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Sulzberger, after all the back and forth, had approved publication of Sheehan’s stories.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, is a state law from 1970 that requires state and local agencies to evaluate the environmental impact of proposed projects before approving them.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
There are more than 100 items on the table but many deal with technical matters, like approving indicators to track progress on climate adaptation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
He urged the judge to conduct an “independent public-interest review” before approving it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
The ECB doesn’t play an official institutional role in approving crypto exchanges’ license applications, which the EU’s new crypto rules, known as MiCA, put in the hands of national regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
I had a new job, a fiancé, and an expanded family—an approving Kenyan granny, even.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
