ratification

[rat-uh-fi-key-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of ratifying; confirmation; sanction.

2. the state of being ratified.

ratification

1. The approval from the legislative branch required to validate government agreements. In the United States, amendments to the Constitution require the ratification of state legislatures, and international treaties require the ratification of the Senate.

Other Word Forms

• ratificationist noun
• nonratification noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ratification¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin ratificātiōn- (stem of ratificātiō ), equivalent to ratificāt ( us ) (past participle of ratificāre to ratify ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Her show “Suffs,” which is about the women’s suffrage movement leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, opens Tuesday at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre as part of its inaugural national tour.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

All agreements announced this month are pending ratification by the unions’ membership.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The U.S., however, has never ratified the agreement and Russia withdrew its ratification in 2023.

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The Senate’s articles of ratification required follow-on treaties to include theater nuclear weapons reductions.

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But with a four-day IMO gathering nearing a close Friday, member countries voted instead to push back the ratification.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• approval 
• authorization 
• confirmation 
• enactment 
• sanction