approve

verb

ap·prove | \ ə-ˈprüv

approved; approving

Definition of approve

1 : to have or express a favorable opinion of couldn't approve such conduct

2a : to accept as satisfactory hopes she will approve the date of the meeting

b : to give formal or official sanction (see sanction entry 1 sense 4c) to : ratify Congress approved the proposed budget.

3 obsolete : prove, attest

intransitive verb

: to take a favorable view doesn't approve of fighting

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about approve

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Choose the Right Synonym for approve

approve, endorse, sanction, accredit, certify mean to have or express a favorable opinion of. approve often implies no more than this but may suggest considerable esteem or admiration. the parents approve of the marriage endorse suggests an explicit statement of support. publicly endorsed her for Senator sanction implies both approval and authorization. the President sanctioned covert operations accredit and certify usually imply official endorsement attesting to conformity to set standards. the board voted to accredit the college must be certified to teach

Examples of approve in a Sentence

I don't care if all the other parents are letting their kids do it; I still don't approve. The state has approved the building plans, so work on the new school can begin immediately. Your supervisor must approve the report before it can be sent.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cunningham applied and was approved for serving out his sentence under house arrest while equipped with a 24/7 GPS device. — Alexander Huls, Popular Mechanics, "The Great Star Wars Heist," 7 Mar. 2019 Xofluza was the first anti-flu medication approved in the U.S. in nearly 20 years. — Megumi Fujikawa, WSJ, "A Flu Drug Was Called ‘Silver Bullet,’ but Some Doctors Prescribe Caution," 11 Feb. 2019 Another poll from HuffPost and YouGov found only 36 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the government shutdown. — Tara Golshan, Vox, "Trump’s approval rating drops to Charlottesville levels during shutdown," 27 Dec. 2018 So in October and November of 2015, before NASA had even officially approved of New Horizons’ new mission, the team operating the spacecraft did a few course correction maneuvers, putting the vehicle on track to meet up with Ultima Thule. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "On New Year’s Day, a spacecraft will zoom by the most distant object humanity has ever visited," 27 Dec. 2018 But more importantly, Ballet Slippers is reportedly the only nail polish that Queen Elizabeth approves of, and the only one HRH wears herself. — Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, "Princess Eugenie Got Married in the Same $9 Essie Nail Polish Meghan Markle Wore for Her Wedding," 15 Oct. 2018 This October the European Parliament approved a sweeping ban of single-use plastics across the EU. — Tyler Wetherall, Condé Nast Traveler, "The All-Women Sailing Crew Trying to Save the Ocean of Plastic," 27 Nov. 2018 The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX’s request to launch a constellation of 7,518 satellites into orbit, a major regulatory hurdle the company needed to clear in its plans to provide internet coverage from space. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "FCC approves SpaceX’s plan to launch more than 7,000 internet-beaming satellites," 15 Nov. 2018 But with Britain’s Parliament still deadlocked over whether to approve the government’s divorce deal with the bloc, EU leaders have postponed the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31. — Jill Lawless, The Seattle Times, "UK’s anti-EU Brexit Party launches EU election campaign," 13 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'approve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.