as in to approve
to give official acceptance of as satisfactory
Lincoln's home state of Illinois was the first to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provided for the abolition of slavery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 ratify
The 185 state parties that have ratified the convention can nominate elements for inscription on the list.
—
Kristin Houser, Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Thune has indicated his preference would be to move all six appropriations bills that were passed by the House so the lower chamber wouldn’t have to come back to Washington to ratify any changes made by the Senate.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 28 Jan. 2026
South Korea’s legislature hasn’t ratified the trade agreement due to a dispute over conflicting interpretations of its implementation.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Jan. 2026
Deal to cut tariffs and ease regulatory barriers A formal signing of the deal could come later this year after officials go through the legal details of the text and the EU Parliament ratifies it.
—Rajesh Roy, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ratify
Kristin Houser, Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Thune has indicated his preference would be to move all six appropriations bills that were passed by the House so the lower chamber wouldn’t have to come back to Washington to ratify any changes made by the Senate.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 28 Jan. 2026
South Korea’s legislature hasn’t ratified the trade agreement due to a dispute over conflicting interpretations of its implementation.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Jan. 2026
Deal to cut tariffs and ease regulatory barriers A formal signing of the deal could come later this year after officials go through the legal details of the text and the EU Parliament ratifies it.
—Rajesh Roy, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ratify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratify
Verb
-
As the Chiefs work to get their stadium and facilities up and running before the 2031-2032 season, any development and additional incentive requests will need to be approved at the local level.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The daycare approved by state officials dictated Rochelle’s schedule.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Iran’s sweeping crackdown on anti-government demonstrations left more than 6,800 people dead, the vast majority of them protesters killed last month, according to an advocacy organization tracking and confirming the fatalities.—
Maham Javaid,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Ivory mentioned that a similar pipe failure last summer caused more than $1 million in damage and said recent site visits have confirmed that these breakdowns are recurring and structural, not accidental.—
La'Tasha Givens,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ratify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratify. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
