Adjacent Words

Appropriate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

APPRO'PRIATE, v.t. [L. ad and proprius, private, peculiar. See Proper.]
1. To set apart for, or assign to a particular use, in exclusion of all other uses; as, a spot of ground is appropriated for a garden.
2. To take to one's self in exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right.
Let no man appropriate the use of a common benefit.
3. To make peculiar; as, to appropriate names to ideas.
4. To sever an ecclesiastical benefice, and annex it to a spiritual corporation, sole or aggregate, being the patron of the living.
APPRO'PRIATE, a.
1. Belonging peculiarly; peculiar; set apart for a particular use or person; as, religious worship is an appropriate duty to the Creator.
2. Most suitable, fit or proper; as, to use appropriate words in pleading.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc; "a book not appropriate for children"; "a funeral conducted the appropriate solemnity"; "it seems that an apology is appropriate" [ant: inappropriate] v
1: give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause; "I will earmark this money for your research"; "She sets aside time for meditation every day" [syn: allow, appropriate, earmark, set aside, reserve]
2: take possession of by force, as after an invasion; "the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"; "The army seized the town"; "The militia captured the castle" [syn: appropriate, capture, seize, conquer]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (-ated; -ating) Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin appropriatus, past participle of appropriare, from Latin ad- + proprius own Date: 15th century 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 the research program> 3. to take or make use of without authority or right • appropriable adjective • appropriator noun II. adjective Date: 15th century especially suitable or compatible ; fitting <an appropriate response> <remarks appropriate to the occasion> Synonyms: see fit • appropriately adverb • appropriateness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & v. --adj. (often foll. by to, for) 1 suitable or proper. 2 formal belonging or particular. --v.tr. 1 take possession of, esp. without authority. 2 devote (money etc.) to special purposes. Derivatives: appropriately adv. appropriateness n. appropriation n. appropriator n. Etymology: LL appropriatus past part. of appropriare (as AD-, proprius own)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Appropriate Ap*pro"pri*ate, n. A property; attribute. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Appropriate Ap*pro"pri*ate, a. [L. appropriatus, p. p. of appropriare; ad + propriare to appropriate, fr. proprius one's own, proper. See Proper.] Set apart for a particular use or person. Hence: Belonging peculiarly; peculiar; suitable; fit; proper. In its strict and appropriate meaning. --Porteus. Appropriate acts of divine worship. --Stillingfleet. It is not at all times easy to find words appropriate to express our ideas. --Locke.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Appropriate Ap*pro"pri*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Appropriated; p. pr. & vb. n. Appropriating.] 1. To take to one's self in exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right; as, let no man appropriate the use of a common benefit. 2. To set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use, in exclusion of all others; -- with to or for; as, a spot of ground is appropriated for a garden; to appropriate money for the increase of the navy. 3. To make suitable; to suit. [Archaic] --Paley. 4. (Eng. Eccl. Law) To annex, as a benefice, to a spiritual corporation, as its property. --Blackstone.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(appropriating, appropriated) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Something that is appropriate is suitable or acceptable for a particular situation. Dress neatly and attractively in an outfit appropriate to the job... The teacher can then take appropriate action. ? inappropriate ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that/to-inf, ADJ for/to n • appropriately It's entitled, appropriately enough, 'Art for the Nation'. ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl/group 2. If someone appropriates something which does not belong to them, they take it, usually without the right to do so. (FORMAL) Several other newspapers have appropriated the idea... = purloin VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Adopt, take to one's self, take as one's own, apply to one's own uses. 2. Assign, apportion, allot, set apart, devote. 3. Apply, use, employ, convert. II. a. Adapted, fit, fitting, befitting, apt, pat (colloq.), suitable, proper, becoming, due, seemly, agreeable, conformable, congruous, germane, convenient, pertinent, apposite, felicitous, applicable, apropos, to the point, to the purpose.

Moby Thesaurus

a propos, absorb, abstract, acceptable, according to Hoyle, accroach, ad rem, adapted, admissible, adopt, advantageous, advisable, agreeable, allocate, allot, and, annex, appertaining, applicable, applying, appoint, apportion, apposite, appropriate, appropriate to, apropos, apt, arrogate, assign, assign to, assimilate, assume, auspicious, bag, banausic, becoming, befitting, belonging, beneficial, boost, borrow, characteristic, civil, claim, colonize, comely, commandeer, commodious, condign, confiscate, congruous, conquer, conscript, convenient, cop, copy, correct, crib, decent, decorous, defraud, derive from, deserved, desirable, desired, despoil, destine, detail, devote, digest, distinctive, distinguished, dovetailing, draft, due, earmark, eligible, embezzle, employable, encroach, enjoyable, enslave, entitled, exact, expedient, expropriate, extort, fair, fate, favorable, feasible, felicitous, filch, fit, fitted, fitten, fitting, forage, fortunate, fructuous, functional, geared, genteel, germane, good, good for, grab, grasp, happy, helpful, hog, hook, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, imitate, impound, in character, in point, indent, infringe, infringe a copyright, inspired, intrinsic, invade, involving, jump a claim, just, just right, kosher, lay hold of, lift, likely, lot, lucky, make assignments, make free with, make off with, make use of, mark off, mark out for, marked, material, meet, merited, meshing, metabolize, mock, monopolize, nice, nick, nip, normal, normative, occupy, of general utility, of help, of service, of use, on the button, opportune, ordain, overrun, palm, pat, peculiar, pertaining, pertinent, pilfer, pinch, pirate, plagiarize, play God, pleasant, poach, politic, portion off, practical, pragmatical, predigest, preempt, preoccupy, prepossess, press, pretend to, profitable, proper, propitious, providential, purloin, qualified, quintessential, raid, recommendable, relevant, requisite, requisition, reserve, restrict, restrict to, right, right and proper, righteous, rightful, ripe, run away with, rustle, schedule, scrounge, seasonable, seemly, seize, sequester, serviceable, set, set apart, set aside, set off, shoplift, simulate, single, singular, sit on, snare, snatch, snitch, sortable, spoil, squat on, steal, subjugate, suitable, suited, suiting, swindle, swipe, tag, tailored, take, take all of, take it all, take on, take over, take possession of, take up, thieve, timely, to be desired, to the point, to the purpose, trespass, true to form, unique, urbane, useful, usurp, utilitarian, walk off with, well-chosen, well-expressed, well-put, well-timed, wise, worthwhile, worthy, wrench