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approbate

[ ap-ruh-beyt ]
/ ˈæp rəˌbeɪt /
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verb (used with object), ap·pro·bat·ed, ap·pro·bat·ing.
to approve officially.
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Origin of approbate

1400–50; late Middle English <Latin approbātus approved (past participle of approbāre), equivalent to ap-ap-1 + probātus proved; see probate

OTHER WORDS FROM approbate

ap·pro·ba·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use approbate in a sentence

  • The Stadtholder was too wary a politician to approbate immediately so sweeping a proposal, and referred it to the States-General.

  • Among the adjectives similarly preserved are to whittle, to wilt and to approbate.

    The American Language|Henry L. Mencken
  • We pick and choose, take and leave, approbate and reprobate in a breath.

    Obiter Dicta|Augustine Birrell
  • He is very liberal in politics, for he don't approbate restraint, and likes to let every critter 'go to the devil' his own way.

    The Attache|Thomas Chandler Haliburton

British Dictionary definitions for approbate

approbate
/ (ˈæprəˌbeɪt) /

verb (tr)
Scots law to accept as valid
approbate and reprobate Scots law to accept part of a document and reject those parts unfavourable to one's interests
mainly US to sanction officially

Word Origin for approbate

C15: from Latin approbāre to approve, from probāre to test
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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