appropriate

adjective

ap·pro·pri·ate | \ ə-ˈprō-prē-ət

Essential Meaning of appropriate

: right or suited for some purpose or situation It's a formal occasion and appropriate attire/dress/clothing is expected. [=you are expected to wear formal clothing] Red wine would have been a more appropriate choice with the meal. See More ExamplesWe'll need to find an appropriate [=suitable] place to store the fuel. Do you think the movie is appropriate for small children (to see)? = Do you think it's appropriate for small children to see the movie? The movie is perfectly/entirely appropriate to/for people of all ages.Hide

Full Definition of appropriate

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

appropriate

verb

ap·pro·pri·ate | \ ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt

appropriated; appropriating

Definition of appropriate (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

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 a research program

3 : to take or make use of without authority or right natural habitats that have been appropriated for human use

Other Words from appropriate Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did you know? More Example Sentences Learn More About appropriate

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Other Words from appropriate

Adjective

appropriately adverb

appropriateness noun

Verb

appropriable \ ə-ˈprō-prē-ə-bəl

\ adjective

appropriator \ ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌā-tər

\ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for appropriate

Adjective

fit, suitable, meet, proper, appropriate, fitting, apt, happy, felicitous mean right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance. fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action. fit for battle suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands. clothes suitable for camping meet suggests a just proportioning. meet payment proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom. proper acknowledgement appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness. an appropriate gift fitting implies harmony of mood or tone. a fitting end apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination. apt quotations happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate. a happy choice of words felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful. a felicitous phrase

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.

Examples of appropriate in a Sentence

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.”

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Volatility Shares says its funds aren’t appropriate for all investors. — Michael Wursthorn, WSJ, 10 Oct. 2021 For a bleary-eyed breakfast, nothing seemed more appropriate than Alem’s shihan ful ($8.95), a fava bean stew with the smooth texture of hummus, or even congee. — Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Oct. 2021 The final stretch to seal the match seemed appropriate that Hahn and Nava were in the middle of it. — Paul Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 15 Sep. 2021 In 2020, the holiday weekend went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – which seemed appropriate, given the Indianapolis 500 is run on Memorial Day weekend – but that move lasted just one year. — Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15 Sep. 2021 Well, her look seemed appropriate following a year of hoodies and athleisure during the coronavirus pandemic. — Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2021 Unlike the nonsense that took place from Sunday through Tuesday, there’s nothing harmlessly entertaining about the familiar news that broke Wednesday afternoon, when acting general manager — has an adjective ever seemed so appropriate? — Jerry Beach, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021 The cloak-and-dagger motif seemed appropriate for Oduye, who playfully describes himself as paranoid. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2021 For example, how long has the deal been at the current stage compared to this average, and is the closing date appropriate for where the deal is in the sales process? — Ray Makela, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Lawmakers would make the final decision in how to appropriate the federal aid. — Bruce Schreiner, The Courier-Journal, 5 Oct. 2021 The third bill would appropriate $154 million from the state General Fund, including $19 million for the state to buy the Perry County Correctional Center, a vacant, private prison on U.S. 80 in Uniontown, west of Selma. — Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 29 Sep. 2021 The marketplace is eager to appropriate and subdue this kind of anarchic energy. — New York Times, 15 Sep. 2021 Yet the somewhat novel concept of having artists from different genres appropriate their own version of Metallica, and rewire Hetfield’s electric emotions, makes for adventurous programming and listening. — A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 10 Sep. 2021 Some labor leaders are pushing for Congress to appropriate more money for frontline worker pay. — Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2021 The occasional successful defense of the city might lead politicians to conclude that there’s less urgency to appropriate money for repairs or upgrades, but that would be a mistake, Rogers said. — Marc Fisher, Tik Root, Anchorage Daily News, 31 Aug. 2021 The occasional successful defense of the city might lead politicians to conclude that there’s less urgency to appropriate money for repairs or upgrades, but that would be a mistake, Rogers said. — Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2021 Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin, who told Breslin that the town had the money to put on the Fall Festival, said the council could vote to appropriate the money toward it without being obligated to spend it. — Michelle L. Quinn, chicagotribune.com, 10 Aug. 2021

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.