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
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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:
In the event of the parents’ death, the courts would still need to approve the guardian.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Leadership did not approve turning on Quiet Mode by default for younger teens, which held down adoption because the setting was hard to find in the app, Volichenko said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The developer was on track to bypass the city’s normal discretionary review process by using Assembly Bill 2011, a newly revised state law that forces the city to approve such projects outright, Blumenfield said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 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
When told of King’s suggestion, the NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall allegedly snapped, “I don’t approve of using children to do men’s work.”
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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
Measure gravity by the statute’s subject matter rather than the defendant’s conduct and proportionality review approves everything.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 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
He approves for now, but he wants to make sure that I'm happy.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
Though omnibus legislation approved last year promised $1 billion in security funding to make the 2028 Games secure, none of that money has arrived in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The government initially approved exports of 1.5 million tonnes this season, adding another 500,000 tonnes in February.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
At the time, rival bidders expressed concern over the unusual financing, but state insurance regulators cleared the deal and Major League Baseball approved it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The city has approved 2,892 of those submissions, according to the filing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The university’s professor of mathematics was Michael Maestlin, who dutifully taught his students in public the Ptolemaic system approved by the Reformed Church.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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
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
The proposal, which will likely be finalized later this year, outlines a set of factors for employers to consider before approving investments.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
That claim was dismissed as "self-serving" by Greenpeace, whose UK chief scientist Doug Parr said approving the field would be "reckless and indefensible" in the context of international commitments to slow down global warming.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Mr. Quisling gave an approving nod and distributed James’s cipher to the class.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
