appropriate

¹ap·pro·pri·ate

transitive verb \ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt\

ap·pro·pri·at·edap·pro·pri·at·ing

Definition of APPROPRIATE

1

: to take exclusive possession of : annex <no one should appropriate a common benefit>

2

: to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use <appropriate money for the research program>

3

: to take or make use of without authority or right

— ap·pro·pri·a·ble \-prē-ə-bəl\ adjective

— ap·pro·pri·a·tor \-prē-ˌā-tər\ noun

Examples of APPROPRIATE

1. The town has appropriated funds to repair the bridge and work should begin this summer.
2. The economy has been weakened by corrupt officials who have appropriated the country's resources for their own use.
3. Elements of the design were appropriated from other architects.
4. The term “bad” has been appropriated by teenagers as a synonym for “good.”
5. From this source it was appropriated by Wilhelm Ropke in his effort to develop a social and political theory in which the market economy would be reconciled with the local community. —Roger Scruton, National Review, 20 June 2005
6. Dr. Seuss's mother, also the daughter of German immigrants, was Henrietta Seuss, and when he appropriated the name for his books Dr. Seuss pronounced it in the German manner, “soice,” until he realized that Americans naturally read the name as “soose,” and that the American pronunciation of “Dr. Seuss” evoked a figure advantageous for an author of children's books to be associated with—Mother Goose. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 23 & 30 Dec. 2002
7. Wales, in contrast, was officially appropriated into the United Kingdom by Henry VIII's Acts of Union, in 1536 and 1543, before it had developed the apparatus of a modern state. —Pamela Petro, Atlantic, April 1999

Origin of APPROPRIATE

Middle English, from Late Latin appropriatus, past participle of appropriare, from Latin ad- + proprius own

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to APPROPRIATE

Synonyms

arrogate, commandeer, convert, expropriate, pirate, preempt, press, seize, take over, usurp

Related Words

annex, attach, claim, confiscate, impound, repossess, sequester; assume, collar, grab, grasp, snatch, steal, wrench, wrest; despoil, loot, pillage; encroach, infringe, invade, occupy, preoccupy, trespass; embezzle, misapply, misappropriate, misuse, peculate

Near Antonyms

buy, purchase; bestow, contribute, donate, give, hand over, present

Rhymes with APPROPRIATE

abbreviate, abominate, accelerate, accentuate, accommodate, acculturate, accumulate, adjudicate, adulterate, affiliate, agglomerate, alienate, alleviate, alliterate, amalgamate, ameliorate, amyl nitrate, annihilate, annunciate, anticipate, apostolate, appreciate, approximate, arpeggiate, articulate, asphyxiate, assassinate, asseverate, assimilate, associate, at any rate, attenuate, authenticate, barbiturate, bicarbonate, calumniate, capacitate, capitulate, catholicate, certificate, coagulate, coelenterate, collaborate, commemorate, commiserate, communicate, compassionate, concatenate, conciliate, confabulate, confederate, conglomerate, congratulate, consolidate, contaminate, cooperate, coordinate, corroborate, deactivate, debilitate, decapitate, decelerate, decerebrate, deconcentrate, deconsecrate, decorticate, decrepitate, de-escalate, defibrinate, defoliate, degenerate, deliberate, delineate, demodulate, denominate, depopulate, depreciate, deracinate, deregulate, desegregate, desiderate, detoxicate, devaluate, diaconate, dilapidate, discriminate, disintegrate, disseminate, dissimulate, dissociate, domesticate, effectuate, ejaculate, elaborate, electroplate, eliminate, elucidate, emaciate, emancipate, emasculate, encapsulate, enumerate, enunciate, episcopate, equivocate, eradicate, etiolate, evacuate, evaluate, evaporate, eventuate, eviscerate, exacerbate, exaggerate, exasperate, excited state, excogitate, excoriate, exfoliate, exhilarate, exonerate, expatiate, expatriate, expectorate, expostulate, expropriate, extenuate, exterminate, extrapolate, facilitate, felicitate, fish or cut bait, garrison state, gesticulate, habilitate, habituate, hallucinate, humiliate, hydrogenate, hypothecate, illuminate, impersonate, inactivate, inaugurate, incarcerate, incinerate, incorporate, incriminate, indoctrinate, inebriate, infatuate, infuriate, ingratiate, ingurgitate, initiate, inoculate, inseminate, insinuate, instantiate, intercalate, interpolate, interrelate, interrogate, intimidate, intoxicate, invalidate, investigate, invigorate, irradiate, Italianate, Korea Strait, lanceolate, legitimate, luxuriate, mandarinate, manipulate, matriarchate, matriculate, Merthiolate, necessitate, negotiate, noncandidate, obliterate, officiate, Orange Free State, orientate, originate, oxygenate, participate, particulate, patriarchate, patriciate, perambulate, peregrinate, perpetuate, pontificate, precipitate, predestinate, predominate, prefabricate, premeditate, preponderate, prevaricate, procrastinate, prognosticate, proliferate, propitiate, proportionate, quadruplicate, quintuplicate, reciprocate, recriminate, recuperate, redecorate, reduplicate, reeducate, refrigerate, regenerate, regurgitate, reincarnate, reintegrate, reiterate, rejuvenate, remunerate, repatriate, repudiate, resuscitate, retaliate, reticulate, revaluate, reverberate, scholasticate, second estate, self-flagellate, self-immolate, self-pollinate, seventy-eight, sextuplicate, Singapore Strait, sophisticate, subordinate, substantiate, syllabicate, tergiversate, transliterate, triangulate, vanity plate, variegate, vaticinate, vituperate, vociferate

²ap·pro·pri·ate

adjective \ə-ˈprō-prē-ət\

Definition of APPROPRIATE

: especially suitable or compatible : fitting <an appropriate response> <remarks appropriate to the occasion>

— ap·pro·pri·ate·ly adverb

— ap·pro·pri·ate·ness noun

Examples of APPROPRIATE

1. Red wine would have been a more appropriate choice with the meal.
2. The movie is perfectly appropriate to people of all ages.
3. More than almost anyone writing today, Slater, whose prose is astringent and sensuous by turn, reflects both a genuine feeling for and appreciation of foods appropriate to the season—and a tolerance for kitchen disasters. —Cynthia Zarin, Gourmet, April 2007
4. Crepuscular means “pertaining to twilight.” It sounds so lovely. I use the word as much as possible, even when it's not appropriate. —Bob Berman, Astronomy, June 2006
5. While working as one of the exhibition curators, I was surprised to learn that, until the 1920s, ice cream was properly eaten with a fork, a cumbersome technique decried by none other than Florence Howe hall, the granddaughter of Julia Ward Howe, who wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. But if high society eventually agreed on a more appropriate utensil for eating the frozen-dessert, even the most au courant hostess may have had trouble deciding what kind of device should be used for serving it … —Darra Goldstein, Saveur, June-July 2006
6. Three days. There was no way on this earth that proper due diligence could be done in such a limited time. For a merger of this magnitude, a week's worth of due diligence would have been more appropriate. —Nina Munk, Vanity Fair, January 2004

Origin of APPROPRIATE

(see ¹appropriate)

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to APPROPRIATE

Synonyms

applicable, fit, apt, becoming, befitting, felicitous, fitted, fitting, good, happy, meet, pretty, proper, right, suitable

Antonyms

improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incongruous, indecent, infelicitous, malapropos, misbecoming, unapt, unbecoming, unbeseeming, unfit, unfitting, unhappy, unmeet, unseemly, unsuitable, wrong

Related Words

condign, deserved, just, justified; needed, required, requisite; able, capable, competent, cut out, qualified, trained; pitch-perfect; acceptable, adequate, decent, kosher, satisfactory, serviceable, tolerable; correct, decorous, respectable, seemly; balanced, companionate, congruous, consonant, harmonious; rightful

Near Antonyms

incapable, incompetent, inept, inexpert, unqualified, unskilled, unskillful, untrained; inadequate, intolerable, unacceptable, unsatisfactory; graceless, incorrect, indecorous; incompatible, uncongenial

See Synonym Discussion at fit