approbation
noun
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Approbation is similar in meaning to approval, and it is also very close to approval etymologically. Both words trace back to the Latin verb approbare, which means “to prove” or “to approve.” Approbation meant “proof” when it first appeared in English in the 1300s, and by the early 1500s it had come to refer to the act of formally or officially approving something, a sense it still retains in certain church-related contexts. Today, however, we mostly use approbation in the looser sense of “approval, admiration, or praise.” The related verb approbate means “to approve or sanction,” and the adjective approbatory means “expressing approval or commendation.”
Examples of approbation in a Sentence
Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 30 July 2024
But where the standard Meyers heroine would fuss herself into a fugue state of approbation, Anne remains oddly unruffled.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 29 June 2024
When a substitute teacher at my high school referenced Infowars during class, my friends and I discussed it later with approbation.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 17 June 2024
Saakashvili sought approbation from Western press and American politicians, but that doesn't lessen his achievements.
—Natalia Antelava, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2013
See All Example Sentences for approbation
Cite this Entry
“Approbation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approbation. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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approbation
noun
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