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:
It’s still not clear how many public-utility commissions will ultimately approve of the requests.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
Among other jobs, they approve or block proposed laws that have been received from the House.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
PTC’s board decided to recommend that the company’s shareholders approve the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
In an official statement, the department’s spokesperson said it “does not approve or deny the operation of microschools for any reason, including the qualifications of the owner/operator.”
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
When Nazi leaders came through his neighborhood to register the eligible children, he signed up right away, even though his father did not approve.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The State Department vets applicants and approves sponsors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Our local police department further reviews and approves each stop on the map to ensure everyone’s safety.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
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
He does not hunt elephants anymore—he approves of the current worldwide ban on ivory—but he does hunt Cape buffalo, which is not an endangered species.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Between 2018 and 2020, he noted, the government approved roughly 5.8 million vials a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
For decades, doctors could offer supportive care and treatments to ease individual symptoms, but they had no approved medication capable of targeting the disease itself.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Board members for the nonprofit, which runs domestic violence shelters in the L.A. area, approved the arrangement in 2018, according to emails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Residents had argued the commission's decision was flawed over how it weighed up the potential for disorder when it approved the parade for the first time since 1998.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
I place samples of leaves and ground cover in petri dishes and spray my environmentally approved potion over each.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
There are more than 100 items on the table but many deal with technical matters, like approving indicators to track progress on climate adaptation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
He urged the judge to conduct an “independent public-interest review” before approving it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
The bank sent out requests to discuss so-called second-look applications, which would allow outside lenders to take on the risk of approving applications the bank denies, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The ECB doesn’t play an official institutional role in approving crypto exchanges’ license applications, which the EU’s new crypto rules, known as MiCA, put in the hands of national regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Mr. Ebgard seemed strangely approving of these revelations.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
