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ap·pro·pri·ate
ə-ˈprō-prē-ət 
: especially suitable or compatible : fitting
appropriately
adverb
appropriateness
noun
Did you know?
From its roots, the verb appropriate would mean basically "make one's own"—that is, "take", or sometimes "grab". Each year the President and Congress create a budget and appropriate funds for each item in it, funds which mostly come in the form of taxes from the public. In the House of Representatives, the powerful Appropriations Committee often gets the last word on how much money goes to each program. "Misappropriation of funds", on the other hand, is a nice way of saying "theft". If someone appropriated pieces of your novel, you might take him or her to court; and if you appropriated trade secrets from your former employers, you might be the one sued.
Synonyms
Example Sentences
Adjective
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
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
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
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
Red wine would have been a more appropriate choice with the meal.
The movie is perfectly appropriate to people of all ages.
Verb
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
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
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
The town has appropriated funds to repair the bridge and work should begin this summer.
The economy has been weakened by corrupt officials who have appropriated the country's resources for their own use.
Elements of the design were appropriated from other architects.
The term “bad” has been appropriated by teenagers as a synonym for “good.”
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Cynthia Zarin, Gourmet, April 2007
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
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
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
Red wine would have been a more appropriate choice with the meal.
The movie is perfectly appropriate to people of all ages.
Verb
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
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
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
The town has appropriated funds to repair the bridge and work should begin this summer.
The economy has been weakened by corrupt officials who have appropriated the country's resources for their own use.
Elements of the design were appropriated from other architects.
The term “bad” has been appropriated by teenagers as a synonym for “good.”
See More
Recent Examples on the WebBrittany Shepherd, ABC News, 22 Jan. 2023
This was reconsidered after Romero worked on several racing documentaries and felt that blending the two cultures would be appropriate.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 19 Jan. 2023
For example, sneakers like the Veja Esplar Leather Sneaker might be appropriate for more casual work environments (or on specific days, like Casual Friday), but not every.
—Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 19 Jan. 2023
Bullard said that a half-point increase would be appropriate at the Fed’s next meeting.
—Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Jan. 2023
Opting into a darker color palette signals refinement and is appropriate for both daytime work wear and evening events.
—Sara Klausing, Men's Health, 18 Jan. 2023
When temperatures are appropriate, take seedlings outside for a couple hours the first day and bring them in at night.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Jan. 2023
And then the White House counsel -- yes, of course, that's appropriate.
—CBS News, 15 Jan. 2023
Going forward, said Harker, rate hikes of a quarter point will be appropriate.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 13 Jan. 2023
Paul Monckton, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2022
Last year, Ivey called a special session for lawmakers to appropriate $772 million in ARPA funds.
—Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 14 Dec. 2022
Also, when a designer does appropriate, they are more readily called out on mainstream and social media.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Dec. 2022
The town is asking voters on Dec. 8 to appropriate another $9.7 million for the project.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 30 Nov. 2022
At the same time, Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro to appropriate $250 million in disaster relief aid in an end-of-year appropriations bill.
—Yereth Rosen, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Nov. 2022
Ideally, Congress would appropriate funds annually, in order to continually expand access, rather than give them out as a lump sum.
—The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2022
Congress could ultimately choose to appropriate more funds for the program, though such a move seems unlikely.
—From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2022
Republican legislators say Lee got it wrong because only the General Assembly has constitutional authority to appropriate funds.
—Fox News, 31 Aug. 2022
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Adjective
Condemnation expectedly aligns along party lines, with 96% of Democrats saying that Trump's handling of classified documents was not appropriate compared to 47% of Republicans.
—Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 22 Jan. 2023
This was reconsidered after Romero worked on several racing documentaries and felt that blending the two cultures would be appropriate.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 19 Jan. 2023
For example, sneakers like the Veja Esplar Leather Sneaker might be appropriate for more casual work environments (or on specific days, like Casual Friday), but not every.
—Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 19 Jan. 2023
Bullard said that a half-point increase would be appropriate at the Fed’s next meeting.
—Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Jan. 2023
Opting into a darker color palette signals refinement and is appropriate for both daytime work wear and evening events.
—Sara Klausing, Men's Health, 18 Jan. 2023
When temperatures are appropriate, take seedlings outside for a couple hours the first day and bring them in at night.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Jan. 2023
And then the White House counsel -- yes, of course, that's appropriate.
—CBS News, 15 Jan. 2023
Going forward, said Harker, rate hikes of a quarter point will be appropriate.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 13 Jan. 2023
Verb
Some options will start the process of verifying your identity, while others will redirect you to appropriate help or password recovery pages.
—Paul Monckton, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2022
Last year, Ivey called a special session for lawmakers to appropriate $772 million in ARPA funds.
—Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 14 Dec. 2022
Also, when a designer does appropriate, they are more readily called out on mainstream and social media.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Dec. 2022
The town is asking voters on Dec. 8 to appropriate another $9.7 million for the project.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 30 Nov. 2022
At the same time, Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro to appropriate $250 million in disaster relief aid in an end-of-year appropriations bill.
—Yereth Rosen, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Nov. 2022
Ideally, Congress would appropriate funds annually, in order to continually expand access, rather than give them out as a lump sum.
—The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2022
Congress could ultimately choose to appropriate more funds for the program, though such a move seems unlikely.
—From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2022
Republican legislators say Lee got it wrong because only the General Assembly has constitutional authority to appropriate funds.
—Fox News, 31 Aug. 2022
See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'appropriate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Adjective
Middle English, from Late Latin appropriatus, past participle of appropriare, from Latin ad- + proprius own
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of appropriate was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near appropriate
Cite this Entry
“Appropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appropriate. Accessed 5 Feb. 2023.
Kids Definition
appropriate
1 of 2 verb
ap·pro·pri·ate
ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt
appropriated; appropriating
appropriate
2 of 2 adjective
ap·pro·pri·ate
ə-ˈprō-prē-ət
: especially suitable or fitting
appropriately
adverb
appropriateness
noun
Legal Definition
More from Merriam-Webster on appropriate
Nglish: Translation of appropriate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of appropriate for Arabic Speakers
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