approbation

American  

[ap-ruh-bey-shuhn] / ˌæp rəˈbeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. approval; commendation.

2. official approval or sanction.

3. Obsolete. conclusive proof.

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approbation British  

/ ˌæprəˈbeɪʃən /

noun

1. commendation; praise

2. official recognition or approval

3. an obsolete word for proof

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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

Example Sentences

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

Hamilton ”advised the president to ‘embrace such reflections and sentiments as will wear well, progress in approbation with time and redound to future reputation.’

From Salon • Jan. 17, 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

So terrified was I that some irregularity would interfere with enlistment—some unforeseen objection—I perhaps answered with too great an exactitude, too punctilious a range of detail—desperate for approbation.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson