approve
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Pronunciation
- (General American, Received Pronunciation) enPR: ə-pro͞ovʹ, IPA(key): /əˈpɹuːv/
- Rhymes: -uːv
Audio (UK): (file) - Hyphenation: ap‧prove
Etymology 1
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.
Verb
approve (third-person singular simple present approves, present participle approving, simple past and past participle approved)
- (transitive) To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
- 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- 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.
- Although we may disagree with it, we must nevertheless approve the sentence handed down by the court-martial.
- (transitive) 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.
- (transitive, archaic) To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.
- 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II:
- He had approved himself a great warrior.
- 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: Second Series:
- Opportunities to approve […] worth.
- 1812-1818, Lord Byron, Child Harolde's Piligrimage
- 'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true.
- 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, section III:
- He had long burned with impatience to approve his valour.
- (intransitive, followed by "of") 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.
- 2016, Mitski, Your Best American Girl:
- Your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me. But I do, I think I do. And you're an all-American boy
- 1995, The Verve, A Northern Soul:
- Dad didn't approve of me, do you? I'm alive with something inside of me.
- 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II:
- They had not approved of the deposition of James.
- 1758, Jonathan Swift, The History of the Four Last Years of the Queen:
- Their address was in the most dutiful manner, approving of what her majesty had done toward a peace, and dissolve her parliament
- (archaic, transitive, usually with a reflexive pronoun) To show to be worthy; to demonstrate the merits of.
- a. 1729, John Rogers, The Duty and Advantageous of Trust in God:
- The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God.
Conjugation
Derived terms
Translations
to sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial
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to regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of
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(archaic in English) to make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically
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to make or show to be worthy of approbation or acceptance
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(archaic in English) to show to be worthy; to demonstrate the merits of
Etymology 2
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.
Verb
approve (third-person singular simple present approves, present participle approving, simple past and past participle approved)
- (transitive, law, English law) 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.
References
- “approve”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Verb
approve
- inflection of approvar:
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