approve
Americanverb (used with object)
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approves,
present (3rd person singular)
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approved,
past participle, past
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approving
present participle
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to speak or think favorably of; pronounce or consider agreeable or good; judge favorably.
to approve the policies of the administration.
- Synonyms:
- esteem, appreciate
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to consent or agree to.
Father approved our plan to visit Chicago.
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to confirm or sanction formally; ratify.
The Senate promptly approved the bill.
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Obsolete.
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to demonstrate; show.
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to make good; attest.
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to prove by trial.
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to convict.
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verb (used without object)
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approves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approved,
past participle, past
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approving
present participle
verb
-
to consider fair, good, or right; commend (a person or thing)
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(tr) to authorize or sanction
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obsolete (tr) to demonstrate or prove by trial
verb
Synonym Usage
Approve, commend, praise mean to have, and usually to express, a favorable opinion. To approve is to have a very good opinion, expressed or not, of someone or something: He approved the new plan. To commend is to speak or write approvingly, often formally and publicly, to congratulate or honor for something done: to commend a worker for a job well done. To praise is to speak or write, often in glowing and emotional terms, about one or more persons, actions, plans, etc.: to praise someone's courage.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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approvednessnoun
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preapprovverb
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reapproveverb
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nonapprovedadjective
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self-approvedadjective
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self-approvingadjective
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unapprovedadjective
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unapprovingadjective
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well-approvedadjective
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approvedlyadverb
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approvinglyadverb
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unapprovinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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approvesimple
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approvessimple
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have approvedperfect
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has approvedperfect
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am approvingprogressive
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are approvingprogressive
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is approvingprogressive
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have been approvingperfect progressive
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has been approvingperfect progressive
Past
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approvedsimple
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had approvedperfect
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was approvingprogressive
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were approvingprogressive
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had been approvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of approve
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English a(p)proven, from Anglo-French, Old French aprover, from Latin approbāre, equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + probāre “to prove ”
Explanation
When you take your new love to meet your parents, you hope that they approve of your choice in partners, but when your date starts eating with his hands at dinner, chances are pretty slim. Approve was first used like to mean "prove" or "show"––think, "The proof is in the pudding." Now, approve means to officially agree. You might need the principal to sign off on, or approve, any purchase of new materials for the classroom. Congress can also approve a bill or budget in this way. It’s important to remember that, like apple and appropriate, approve is spelled with a double “p.”
Vocabulary lists containing approve
List 7
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 21–August 27, 2021
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 1–October 7, 2022
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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:
The judge must also decide whether to approve the DOJ’s settlement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Strategy also focuses on weapons systems, which corporations build for lots of money and legislators approve for lots of factory jobs.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Many companies would continue to release earnings statements quarterly—but not the more involved regulatory filings—even if U.S. authorities approve an option to file only semiannually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Councillors meeting next week have been asked to approve the draft guidance, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
People who didn’t approve of Stone’s abolitionist message sometimes threw trash at her as she spoke.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
And the convention approves this unanimously without noted debate because it’s so freaking obvious, right?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
The emergency application comes one week after an appeals court ordered construction to stop until Congress approves, upholding a ruling won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued the administration last year.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
If the rest of the committee thinks it needs to raise rates to restrain inflation, that’s precisely what it will do, whether Warsh approves or not.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The board approves the EDC’s annual budget but when it comes to approving actual projects, it largely functions as a final rubber stamp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
On average, the United States approves one million applicants annually as permanent residents.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
In July, France's parliament approved legislation banning both social media access for children under 15 and mobile phone use in high schools.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
British regulators approved Foundayo for weight loss and diabetes earlier this month, having already approved a similar pill from Lilly’s Danish rival Novo Nordisk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
While Andrew Friedman supplies the talent and Kasten works the business, none of it is possible without the seemingly endless flood of money approved by Walter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Several ACC inhibitors have advanced into mid-stage clinical trials, but none has been approved to treat metabolic disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Several months into his new presidency, John F. Kennedy approved an attempted invasion of the island.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
But those objections weren’t enough, and “we all feared that the Planning Department was on the verge of possibly approving the process ministerially.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
McCulloch said he was confident there was a "balance of advantages" in approving Rosebank and added: "The ball is back now in the government's court."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Note: Net approval is share approving minus disapproving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The vulnerable names are regulated utilities whose growth plans depend on regulators and voters approving higher household bills while the company builds for Big Tech.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Mrs. Pocket finishing her orange at about the same time, and not approving of this, said to Jane,—
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
