ratification

noun

rat·​i·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌra-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

plural ratifications

: the act or process of ratifying something (such as a treaty or amendment) : formal confirmation or sanction

… the ratification of the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States.

—Suzanne Travers

A treaty would require two-thirds approval in the Senate for ratification.

—Lois Ember

More than 100 countries signed the Rome Treaty, and it is expected that the court will come into existence within the next year or two, when it receives the necessary sixty treaty ratifications.

—Richard Falk

Examples of ratification in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After Tennessee’s ratification two months later, the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026

Details are being kept under wraps until a June 2 member meeting ahead of a ratification vote. —Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026

But as the ratification fight dragged on, the series ballooned. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 May 2026

Nashville Historical Foundation board member Sandra Shelton says that Suffragist leader Carrie Chapman Catt, who stayed for six weeks at the Hermitage Hotel working on ratification, was a frequent guest of the tea room. —Nancy Vienneau, Southern Living, 17 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ratification

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

ratification

noun

rat·​i·​fi·​ca·​tion

ˌrat-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən

: the action of ratifying