approbation
Americannoun
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approval; commendation.
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official approval or sanction.
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Obsolete. conclusive proof.
noun
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commendation; praise
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official recognition or approval
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an obsolete word for proof
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
Explanation
Approbation is a formal word for approval or praise. Approbation is like getting the nod in a big way. Politicians rely on the public’s approbation to get elected. How is it possible that approbation means approval when probation is a form of being in trouble? Probation is a testing period, to see if you can be good. Approbation means it's all good. Or you can remember this rhyme: "Filled with approbation, the audience gave a standing ovation."
Vocabulary lists containing approbation
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Things Fall Apart
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Grade 11, List 4
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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.
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
He'll do a lot of damage before he's finished — but he will never get the popular approbation he craves, now or in the future.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 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
After Mr. Hinckley announced his “Redemption Tour,” similar approbation from the public led to cancelations at venues in New York City, Chicago, and Connecticut.
From Washington Times • Aug. 4, 2022
Despite their welcome, I could not bring myself to speak much at our meal, so sensible am I of my youth and inexperience, so anxious am I for their approbation.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
