Word.ws English Dictionary

approbative

/ˈæp.ɹəˌbeɪ.tɪv/US/ˈæp.ɹəˌbeɪ.tɪv/

approbative adjective: expressing approval.

Adjective

approbative (comparative more approbative, superlative most approbative)

  1. Expressing approval.
    • approbative criticism
    • His late Display of unparralled [sic] Generosity to a distressed, though reputable Family, will be enrolled in the Court above; and from the recording Angel, instead of a Tear, extort an approbative smile.1792, John Pope, A Tour through the Southern and Western Territories of the United States of North-America, New York: Charles L. Woodward, published 1888, page 8
  2. Sanctioning officially, giving authorization or approval to something.
    • And if the words have any graine of truth in them, they must be undestood [sic] not of an Authorative, but onely of a Consultive Power to advise him, or at the most approbative, to give their assent to Laws propounded, he having limited himselfe to make no Laws without them.1643, John Bramhall, The Serpent Salve, page 22
  3. Seeking approval; placing great value on others' opinions of oneself.

Noun

approbative (plural approbatives)

  1. A word or grammatical form which denotes a positive affect expressing the appreciation or approval of the speaker.

Examples of approbative in a sentence

  • […] the approbative shouts of his half-intoxicated auditors filled his simple soul with delight and pride.1895, Joseph Conrad, “Chapter 2”, in Almayer’s Folly, London: T. Fisher Unwin, page 33:
  • Even words that might seem approbative like chachem for wise man, with the slightest turn take on an ironic twist.Winter 2017, Joseph Epstein, “Jokes: A Genre of Thought”, in Jewish Review of Books, volume 7, number 4:

Synonyms of approbative

Antonyms

Forms of approbative

Adjective
comparativemore approbative
superlativemost approbative
Noun
pluralapprobatives

Origin of approbative

From Medieval Latin approbātīvus, from Latin approbō (“assert, accept, confirm”).

Words formed from approbative

Questions about approbative

What does approbative mean?
Approbative means expressing approval.
How do you use approbative in a sentence?
[…] the approbative shouts of his half-intoxicated auditors filled his simple soul with delight and pride.
What part of speech is approbative?
Approbative can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce approbative?
Approbative is pronounced /ˈæp.ɹəˌbeɪ.tɪv/ (UK).

Words near approbative in the dictionary

  1. approbates and reprobates
  2. approbating
  3. approbating and reprobating
  4. approbation
  5. approbations
  6. approbative
  7. approbatively
  8. approbativeness
  9. approbatives
  10. approbator
  11. approbators

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: approbative (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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