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)
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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:
Mediobanca—itself Assicurazioni Generali’s top shareholder—last year saw an offer for Banca Generali derailed by its own investors, who failed to approve the move after a top shareholder abstained from the vote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 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
On Monday, both Harvard and the plaintiffs in those cases asked the court to approve the class-action settlement agreement valued at $53 million.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
In Washington, Eisenhower turned to a vital question: Should he continue to approve U-2 flights over Soviet territory in the early months of 1960?
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
And the convention approves this unanimously without noted debate because it’s so freaking obvious, right?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Instead, the unusual move would leave Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti residing in the country without a valid visa, which the U.S. will restore if Brazil approves Perez, the official said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
If the full council approves the measure, the city’s Department of Transportation will have 30 days to report back with recommendations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 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
June 4: The US Congress approves the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which would guarantee suffrage to women, and sends it to all the states for ratification.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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
The OCC in recent months has approved a series of bank charter applications for cryptocurrency-focused national banks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 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
On Wednesday, the state assembly approved Assembly Bill 762, which, if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will make the battery-powered disposable devices illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell in the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● 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
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
When I got to his office, Dr. Shawaibi handed me the signed letter approving me to make the Hajj in Mecca, and then a book.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
