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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
In May 2024, the DOJ found that Boeing had breached the agreement by failing to implement appropriate corporate compliance and safety measures. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Sep. 2025 Prominently display warning labels that have appropriate age, height, and weight limits, including maximums. Devonne Goode, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
In November, six weeks after the raid, Bowyer got a text from a friend who had just seen Ohtani in Newport Beach walking his dog; Bowyer appropriated the sighting as his own as a means of pressuring Mizuhara to engage. David Amsden, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025 Between 2022 and 2024, Congress appropriated $136 million to FEMA for the Next Generation Warning System grant program. Michael Copley, NPR, 28 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for appropriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appropriate
Adjective
  • Questions over the midfielder being a suitable captain arose when his form dipped in the 2024-25 season.
    Art de Roché, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • This long-sleeve dress is suitable for multiple occasions and easy to style.
    Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • That initial investigation led the HPD to obtain a search warrant to seize electronic devices from the property associated with the IP address of the cyber tip, and the department investigated online communications.
    Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
  • In addition, several firearms and drugs were seized from other residences, according to police.
    Jack Moore, ABC News, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The bots would impersonate beneficiaries, using dates of birth and other information that can be found on the internet, to try to change the beneficiaries’ bank-routing information and steal their benefits.
    Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Through the first week of September, Soto stole three bases.
    Will Sammon, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • There is a duty of care not to use data for the sake of it, but rather to ensure that analysis stands up to proper scrutiny and scientific rigour where possible.
    Mark Carey, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Leaving clean laundry in the dryer or hamper only puts off a chore until later, keeps clean clothes from its proper place, and also risks wrinkles or someone accidentally mistaking it for dirty laundry instead.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, 12-inch centipedes were also confiscated and the green mamba, which had been sick, died after the raid.
    TJ Macias, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The boats were seized, the catch was confiscated by the government.
    Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • That delay came on the first day that passengers were able to swipe credit cards and ATM cards instead of Clipper cards in its new Tap and Ride system of pay.
    Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The companies winning today are those that view payments as strategic capital flow tools, not just portals to swipe.
    Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Candy fans will enjoy watching it, and his children — who both participate in the documentary — will be able to look to it as a fitting tribute to their father.
    Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
  • For Bowie, the choice to put his creative energy into a musical in what would be the final months of his life seems to be a fitting one.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Video surveillance from the scene posted online by Fox 11 shows a man lingering near a doorway, quickly grabbing the gift box from a table and running out of the venue.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The owner wanted to keep the grab-and-go options previously offered in the space.
    La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Appropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appropriate. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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