approve
Syllables: ap·prove/əˈpɹuːv/
approve verb: to officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
Verb (1)
approve (third-person singular simple present approves, present participle approving, simple past and past participle approved)
- To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
- Although we may disagree with it, we must nevertheless approve the sentence handed down by the court-martial.
- It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
- To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of.
- We approve the measure of the administration, for it is an excellent decision.
- To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.
- He had long burned with impatience to approve his valour.1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, section III
- 'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true.1812–1818, Lord Byron, Child Harolde's Piligrimage
- To consider worthy (to); to be pleased (with); to accept.
- Her mother never approves of any of her boyfriends. She thinks nobody is good enough for her little girl.
- Their address was in the most dutiful manner, approving of what her majesty had done toward a peace, and dissolve her parliament1758, Jonathan Swift, The History of the Four Last Years of the Queen
- Synonyms:
- cheer
- To show to be worthy; to demonstrate the merits of.
- The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God.a. 1729, John Rogers, The Duty and Advantageous of Trust in God
Verb (2)
approve (third-person singular simple present approves, present participle approving, simple past and past participle approved)
- To make profit of; to convert to one's own profit — said especially of waste or common land appropriated by the lord of the manor.
approve meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
approve in Hindi
- to sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial
- अनुमोदन करना anumodan karnā
approve in Tamil
- ஏற்பளி, ஏற்றுக்கொள், ஒப்பு, ஒப்புக் கொள், ஏற்றுக் கொள், ஒப்புக்கொள்
approve in Marathi
- मान्यता देणे, मंजूर करणे
approve in Urdu
- to sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial
- تَوثِیق کَرنا tausīq karnā
More languagesFewer languages
- approve in Bengali
- প্রমাণ করা, প্রতিপাদন করা, সমর্থন করা, মঁজুর করা
- approve in Telugu
- ఆమోదించుటకు
- approve in Malayalam
- സ്ഥിരീകരിക്കുക, അഭിനന്ദിക്കുക
- approve in Kannada
- ಹಿಡಿ hiḍi
- approve in Punjabi
- ਮਨਜ਼ੂਰ ਕਰਨਾ
- approve in Odia
- ଅନୁମୋଦନ କରିବା
- approve in Nepali
- अनुमोदन गर्ने
- approve in Arabic
- صَدَّقَ ṣaddaqa, وَافَقَ wāfaqa, اِسْتَحَسَنَ istaḥasana, رَضِيَ raḍiya
- approve in Persian
- تصویب کردن tasvib kardan
- approve in Thai
- อนุมัติ à-nú-mát, เห็นด้วย hěn-dûai, เห็นดี, ยอมรับ yɔɔm-ráp
- approve in Vietnamese
- phê duyệt
Examples of approve in a sentence
- He had approved himself a great warrior.1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II:
- They had not approved of the deposition of James.1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II:
- Your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me.2016, Mitski, Your Best American Girl:
Synonyms of approve
Antonyms
Forms of approve
| third-person singular present | approves |
|---|---|
| present participle | approving |
| past participle | approved |
| past | approved |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | approvest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | approvedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | approveth |
| past participle (archaic) | approven |
Origin of approve
From Middle English aproven, appreoven, appreven, apreven, borrowed from Old French aprover, approver, approuvir, appreuver (“to approve”), from Latin approbō, from ad + probō (“to esteem as good, approve, prove”). Doublet of approbate. By surface analysis, ad- + prove.
From Middle English approuen, approven, from Old French aprouer; a- + a form apparently derived from the pro, prod, in Latin prōsum (“be useful or profitable”). Compare with improve.
Words formed from approve
Words that rhyme with approve
Questions about approve
- What does approve mean?
- Approve means to officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
- What is approve in Hindi?
- Approve in Hindi is अनुमोदन करना (anumodan karnā). See Approve meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use approve in a sentence?
- He had approved himself a great warrior.
- What part of speech is approve?
- Approve is a verb.
- How do you pronounce approve?
- Approve is pronounced /əˈpɹuːv/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of approve?
- The past tense of approve is approved.
Words near approve in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: approve (page history and authors); approve (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); approve (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); approve (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); approve (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); approve (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಹಿಡಿ (Kannada) (page history and authors); approve (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); approve (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); approve (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-approve.wav.
Cite this entry: “approve.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/approve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.