approve
Americanverb (used with object)
-
approves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approved,
past participle, past
-
approving
present participle
-
to speak or think favorably of; pronounce or consider agreeable or good; judge favorably.
to approve the policies of the administration.
- Synonyms:
- esteem, appreciate
-
to consent or agree to.
Father approved our plan to visit Chicago.
-
to confirm or sanction formally; ratify.
The Senate promptly approved the bill.
-
Obsolete.
-
to demonstrate; show.
-
to make good; attest.
-
to prove by trial.
-
to convict.
-
verb (used without object)
-
approves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approved,
past participle, past
-
approving
present participle
verb
-
to consider fair, good, or right; commend (a person or thing)
-
(tr) to authorize or sanction
-
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
-
approvednessnoun
-
preapprovverb
-
reapproveverb
-
nonapprovedadjective
-
self-approvedadjective
-
self-approvingadjective
-
unapprovedadjective
-
unapprovingadjective
-
well-approvedadjective
-
approvedlyadverb
-
approvinglyadverb
-
unapprovinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
approvesimple
-
approvessimple
-
have approvedperfect
-
has approvedperfect
-
am approvingprogressive
-
are approvingprogressive
-
is approvingprogressive
-
have been approvingperfect progressive
-
has been approvingperfect progressive
Past
-
approvedsimple
-
had approvedperfect
-
was approvingprogressive
-
were approvingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 21–August 27, 2021
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 1–October 7, 2022
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
She and her sister both approve of hiding the numbers of likes and restricting filters.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Senate voted 30-9 on Monday to approve a rule change that would allow for the bill to pass quickly before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
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
She had known all along her parents would not approve; all this time they had indulged her hobby but now that she was eighteen, she knew, things would be different.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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
Zuckerberg says Meta is adopting a new governance structure that gives its board of directors power to say whether new models adhere to safety criteria the board approves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 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
He approves for now, but he wants to make sure that I'm happy.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
Researchers plan to compare CAR T-cell therapy with an already approved rheumatoid arthritis drug that also targets B cells.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Any deal would then have to be approved by a second referendum, as well by parliament, and the constitution would have to be amended.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
In June, lawmakers approved a major expansion of the funding allocated each year to the state’s film and television tax credit program, moving to raise that cap to $750 million from $330 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Two federal judges in New York approved the subpoena requests, which had been filed a day earlier, according to court documents reviewed by AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
They must think their way into a world in which the values we now hold, the institutions we now admire, were not even imagined, let alone approved.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
Now it investigates police departments with excessive delays in approving gun permits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Congress who have a role in approving major weapons sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 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
She gave him an approving nod and made as if to leave.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
