approbate

American  

[ap-ruh-beyt] / ˈæp rəˌbeɪt /

verb (used with object)

approbated, approbating

1. to approve officially.

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approbate British  

/ ˈæprəˌbeɪt /

verb

1. Scots law to accept as valid

2. Scots law to accept part of a document and reject those parts unfavourable to one's interests

3. to sanction officially

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Other Word Forms

• approbator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of approbate

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

Example Sentences

But says Vox Populi, perhaps the new plan will not have the same number to approbate it, that the constitution of this State had.

From Essays on the Constitution of the United States by Ford, Paul Leicester

Alan?' said my father—'Would you approbate and reprobate, sir?

From Redgauntlet by Scott, Walter, Sir

I approbate the one, I reprobate the other.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

We pick and choose, take and leave, approbate and reprobate in a breath.

From Obiter Dicta by Birrell, Augustine

Not that he would approbate the system of slavery; for he was, and in fact had been through life, its most determined foe.

From Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams Sixth President of the Unied States by Seward, William Henry