Past tense of approve
regular verb
The past tense of approve is approved. The past participle is also approved.
Forms of approve
| Base form (V1) | approve /əˈpɹuːv/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | approved /əˈpɹuːvd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | approved /əˈpɹuːvd/ |
| Present participle | approving /əˈpɹuː.vɪŋ/ |
| Third person singular | approves /əˈpɹuːvz/ |
Approved in a sentence
- 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
- After hearing the demo, the record label approved funding to record the song with a full band.From the entry demo
- Thanks to a bureaucratic fait accompli, the demolition was already approved and has already started.From the entry fait accompli
- The new regulations will take effect once they are approved by the Office of Administrative Law.From the entry take effect
- Employees' approved expense claims will be reimbursed by the 4th of the following month.From the entry approved
Meaning of approve
- verb To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
- verb To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of.
- verb To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.
Questions about the past tense of approve
- What is the past tense of approve?
- The past tense of approve is approved.
- What is the past participle of approve?
- The past participle of approve is approved.
- Is approve a regular or irregular verb?
- Approve is a regular verb: its past tense adds -d.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: approve (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of approve.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/approve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.