appropriate
Americanadjective
-
suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, person, occasion, etc..
an appropriate example;
an appropriate dress.
- Antonyms:
- inept, inappropriate, unsuitable
-
belonging to or peculiar to a person; proper.
Each played his appropriate part.
verb (used with object)
-
appropriates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
appropriated,
past participle, past
-
appropriating
present participle
-
to set apart, authorize, or legislate for some specific purpose or use.
The legislature appropriated funds for the university.
-
to take to or for oneself; take possession of.
-
to take without permission or consent; seize; expropriate.
He appropriated the trust funds for himself.
-
to steal, especially to commit petty theft.
adjective
-
right or suitable; fitting
-
rare particular; own
they had their appropriate methods
verb
-
to take for one's own use, esp illegally or without permission
-
to put aside (funds, etc) for a particular purpose or person
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
appropriatenessnoun
-
appropriativenessnoun
-
appropriatornoun
-
reappropriateverb (used with object)
-
appropriableadjective
-
appropriativeadjective
-
nonappropriativeadjective
-
quasi-appropriateadjective
-
well-appropriatedadjective
-
appropriatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
appropriatesimple
-
appropriatessimple
-
have appropriatedperfect
-
has appropriatedperfect
-
am appropriatingprogressive
-
are appropriatingprogressive
-
is appropriatingprogressive
-
have been appropriatingperfect progressive
-
has been appropriatingperfect progressive
Past
-
appropriatedsimple
-
had appropriatedperfect
-
was appropriatingprogressive
-
were appropriatingprogressive
-
had been appropriatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of appropriate
First recorded in 1515–25; from Late Latin appropriātus “made one's own” (past participle of appropriāre ), equivalent to Latin ap- ap- 1 + propri(us) “one's own, special, particular” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Something appropriate is correct and fits the situation. A sweater-vest with reindeer on it is appropriate holiday apparel, even if it's totally embarrassing. The adjective appropriate is used when something is suitable or fitting. It comes from the Latin appropriare, which means "to make something fit, to make something one's own." Going back even further, appropriate is related to the Latin word proprius, "to belong to a person, thing, or group." Another appropriate way to use this word is as a verb, meaning to steal or seize something, the way you'd appropriate your sister's sandwich if she left it sitting near you.
Vocabulary lists containing appropriate
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 1-10
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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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.
See Examples For:
For cash that can be committed for longer than 12 months, she believes it is appropriate to move up in maturity to a short-term bond fund, such as PARTX.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Malady Of note: My home state’s appropriate word?
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
“The appropriate monetary policy should not be interpreted as solely driven by the energy supply shock but rather requires a multi-pronged diagnostic assessment,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The investigation involves state police and the country's security agency, it said, adding that an update would be "provided at the appropriate time".
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Second, Jefferson suggested that Adams’s description of aristocratic power was appropriate for Europe, where feudal privileges, family titles, and more limited economic opportunities created conditions that sustained class distinctions.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The recently enacted budget appropriates money for detention facilities, but it doesn’t require children to be detained.
From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2025
Reed included the language in a dedicated subsection of the Senate report accompanying the bill, which appropriates the money that funds the activities of the State Department among other priorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2023
On the other hand, it allocates — or appropriates — money to carry out those policies.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 18, 2023
Among billions of dollars appropriated for semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research, the act appropriates $32.5 million to combat sex-based harassment in STEM.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 10, 2023
It is not permitted to any subject of the realm to receive the smallest gift without submitting it forthwith to the Negoos, who either appropriates it with an “Egzihér istikh!”
From The Highlands of Ethiopia by William Cornwallis Harris
FTX imploded after its founders fraudulently appropriated approximately $8 billion in customer funds to finance their own proprietary investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Journal also reported that the ads were paid for with taxpayer dollars that Congress appropriated to Homeland Security for Customs and Border Protection, an agency that regularly runs ads about immigration policies.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
A determination of disaster came at the end of that year, he said, and Congress appropriated funds in 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Every dollar appropriated, he added, would be used to build the "lethality" of US military forces and "reinforce peace through strength".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Two months later, the commission appropriated $15 million for new accelerator construction, much of it destined for Berkeley.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
She’s also aware that some people are stealing and appropriating, using a coolness that they didn’t create as a costume of convenience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
To Palantir’s old guard, the FDE remains as deeply misunderstood as ever, despite its newfound fame — a role that rivals are culturally appropriating while ignoring the often grueling engineering process it entails.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026
The memo concluded that Congress still needs to pass “express language appropriating funds for back pay for furloughed employees, or such payments cannot be made.”
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2025
Of course, this isn't the first time a global fashion brand has been accused of appropriating Indian handicrafts.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
Ofelia took to appropriating Celia’s dresses and shoes.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
