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appropriate

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective appropriate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of appropriate are apt, felicitous, fitting, fit, happy, meet, proper, and suitable. While all these words mean "right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance," appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness.

an appropriate gift

In what contexts can apt take the place of appropriate?

In some situations, the words apt and appropriate are roughly equivalent. However, apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination.

apt quotations

When would felicitous be a good substitute for appropriate?

The synonyms felicitous and appropriate are sometimes interchangeable, but felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful.

a felicitous phrase

When might fit be a better fit than appropriate?

The words fit and appropriate can be used in similar contexts, but fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action.

fit for battle

When could fitting be used to replace appropriate?

Although the words fitting and appropriate have much in common, fitting implies harmony of mood or tone.

a fitting end

Where would happy be a reasonable alternative to appropriate?

The meanings of happy and appropriate largely overlap; however, happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate.

a happy choice of words

When is meet a more appropriate choice than appropriate?

While in some cases nearly identical to appropriate, meet suggests a just proportioning.

meet payment

When is it sensible to use proper instead of appropriate?

The words proper and appropriate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom.

proper acknowledgement

When can suitable be used instead of appropriate?

While the synonyms suitable and appropriate are close in meaning, suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands.

clothes suitable for camping

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of appropriate
Adjective
If your submission is selected for inclusion in the NPR News Quiz, you will be acknowledged in a list of contributors on NPR's website or otherwise receive appropriate credit, but failure to do so shall not be deemed a breach of your rights. Holly J. Morris, NPR, 16 May 2025 Those with weakened immune systems cannot adequately mount an appropriate immune response when exposed to different diseases. Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Verb
The president's proposal is a request; Congress holds the power of the purse to appropriate money to fund the government. Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 3 May 2025 Already in his first three months in office, Trump has cut federal jobs and funding to agencies that were appropriated by Congress. Brian Bennett, Time, 29 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for appropriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appropriate
Adjective
  • This content is not, nor is intended to be, trading or investment advice or a recommendation that any investment product or strategy is suitable for any person.
    JJ Kinahan, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
  • Securities, investment products, other financial products or strategies discussed herein may not be suitable for all investors.
    Katie Stockton, CNBC, 19 May 2025
Verb
  • The White House, with Vice President JD Vance’s experience in tech, should seize this moment to build a national AI strategy that does not leave the workers behind.
    Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Time, 11 May 2025
  • This time, the case moved forward alongside multiple simultaneous investigations and cases in other states, and in 2018, the federal government seized Backpage and it was taken down.
    Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 11 May 2025
Verb
  • Trailing in the second inning, Alexis Ramirez reached base on a hit up the middle, then stole second.
    Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025
  • The ‘Turkey Brothers’ steal the encore with a boisterous jam As fans begged for an encore to an empty stage, an unlikely guest took center stage.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • Your pricing is too low to support proper delivery.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
  • Burial evidence linked to potential victims of obstetric deaths suggests not all infants who died early received proper burials or were even born free.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Verb
  • But white farmers are being brutally killed, and their land is being confiscated in South Africa.
    Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 13 May 2025
  • Our families could be dishonored in public, our personal memories confiscated for storage inside the Criminal Archives.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 13 May 2025
Verb
  • If loathing immigrants and swiping right on the Third Reich is extremism, then the label does seem to fit at least part of the AfD’s leadership.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
  • The price may steepen with a rival tax, but the Yankees certainly would love the opportunity to swipe one of their rival's best players.
    Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • The back-and-forth nature of this series almost makes a Game 7 a deserving, fitting end to this matchup.
    Kelly Iko, New York Times, 16 May 2025
  • So what could be more fitting than renaming it for Donald Trump?
    Joe Mathews, Mercury News, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • Combs returns to the scene shortly thereafter and appears to grab at the phone.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 May 2025
  • The Pineapple Express actress allegedly grabbed and struck van Ree's arm in an altercation at a Seattle airport.
    Alex Gurley, People.com, 13 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Appropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appropriate. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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