Adjacent Words

Approve definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

APPROVE', v.t. [L. approbo; of ad and probo, to prove or approve. See Approbate, Prove and Proof.]
1. To like; to be pleased with; to admit the propriety of; as, we approve the measures of administration. This word may include, with the assent of the mind to the propriety, a commendation to others.
2. To prove; to show to be true; to justify.
Would'st thou approve thy constancy? Approve first thy wisdom.
[This sense, though common a century or two ago, is now rare.]
3. To experience; to prove by trial. [Not used. See Prove.]
4. To make or show to be worthy of approbation; to commend.
Jesus, a man approved of God. Acts 2.
This word seems to include the idea of Christ's real office as the Messiah, and of God's love and approbation of him in that character.
5. To like and sustain as right; to commend.
Yet their posterity approve their sayings. Psalms 49.
This word, when it signifies to be pleased, is often followed by of, in which use, it is intransitive; as, I approve of the measure. But the tendency of modern usage is to omit of. "I approve the measure."
6. To improve.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: give sanction to; "I approve of his educational policies" [syn: approve, O.K., okay, sanction] [ant: disapprove, reject]
2: judge to be right or commendable; think well of [ant: disapprove]

Merriam Webster's

verb (approved; approving) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French apruer, approver, from Latin approbare, from ad- + probare to prove — more at prove Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. obsolete prove, attest 2. to have or express a favorable opinion of <couldn't approve such conduct> 3. a. to accept as satisfactory <hopes she will approve the date of the meeting> b. to give formal or official sanction to ; ratify <Congress approved the proposed budget> intransitive verb to take a favorable view <doesn't approve of fighting> • approvingly adverb Synonyms: 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>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. confirm; sanction (approved his application). 2 intr. give or have a favourable opinion. 3 tr. commend (approved the new hat). 4 tr. archaic (usu. refl.) demonstrate oneself to be (approved himself a coward). Phrases and idioms: approved school hist. a residential place of training for young offenders. approve of 1 pronounce or consider good or satisfactory; commend. 2 agree to. Derivatives: approvingly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF aprover f. L (as APPROBATE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Approve Ap*prove" ([a^]p*pr[=oo]v"), v. t. [OF. aprouer; a (L. ad) + a form apparently derived fr. the pro, prod, in L. prodest it is useful or profitable, properly the preposition pro for. Cf. Improve.] (Eng. Law) To make profit of; to convert to one's own profit; -- said esp. of waste or common land appropriated by the lord of the manor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Approve Ap*prove", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Approved; p. pr. & vb. n. Approving.] [OE. aproven, appreven, to prove, OF. aprover, F. approuver, to approve, fr. L. approbare; ad + probare to esteem as good, approve, prove. See Prove, and cf. Approbate.] 1. To show to be real or true; to prove. [Obs.] Wouldst thou approve thy constancy? Approve First thy obedience. --Milton. 2. To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically. Opportunities to approve . . . worth. --Emerson. He had approved himself a great warrior. --Macaulay. 'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true. --Byron. His account . . . approves him a man of thought. --Parkman. 3. To sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial. 4. To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of; as, we approve the measured of the administration. 5. To make or show to be worthy of approbation or acceptance. The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God. --Rogers. Note: This word, when it signifies to be pleased with, to think favorably (of), is often followed by of. They had not approved of the deposition of James. --Macaulay. They approved of the political institutions. --W. Black.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(approves, approving, approved) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you approve of an action, event, or suggestion, you like it or are pleased about it. Not everyone approves of the festival... VERB: oft with brd-neg, V of n 2. If you approve of someone or something, you like and admire them. You've never approved of Henry, have you?... VERB: oft with brd-neg, V of n 3. If someone in a position of authority approves a plan or idea, they formally agree to it and say that it can happen. The Russian Parliament has approved a program of radical economic reforms... = sanction VERB: V n 4. see also approved, approving

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-proov': This word, as ordinarily used, means "to entertain a favorable opinion concerning" (Ps 49:13; La 3:36). Its Biblical and archaic use conveys a much stronger meaning and is equivalent to its use in legal formalities of today, "to approve a bill," i.e. by some act, generally a signature, to express approval. In New Testament, a number of times, for Greek dokimazo, "to test, try, make proof of," and its derivative, dokimos, "tested," "tried." The word will, in almost every ease, imply that the proof is victoriously demonstrated, the proved is also approved, just as in English we speak of "tried men" (Trench, Greek Synonyms of New Testament). It is the word most frequently used for the testing of ores. That which does not stand the test is adokimos, "reprobate." Compare Jer 6:30 King James Version: "reprobate silver." That which stands the test is dokimos, "approved." "Salute Apelles the approved in Christ" (Ro 16:10); "they that are approved" (1Co 11:19); "Present thyself approved unto God" (2Ti 2:15); when he hath been "approved" (Jas 1:12). See also Ro 14:18,22; 1Th 2:4.

H. E. Jacobs

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Commend, recommend, praise like, appreciate, value, prize, think well or favorably of, think highly of, speak well of, be pleased with. 2. Sanction, confirm, justify, ratify, uphold sustain, make valid, assent or consent to, concur in, indorse.

Moby Thesaurus

OK, accede to, accept, accord to, accredit, admire, adopt, affiliate, affirm, agree to, allow, amen, applaud, approve of, argue, assent, assent to, attest, authenticate, authorize, autograph, back up, be partial to, be willing, bear, bespeak, betoken, bless, breathe, carry, certify, clear, commend, compliment, condescend, condone, confirm, connive at, connote, consent, consent to silently, cosign, countenance, countersign, deign, demonstrate, denote, display, embrace, endorse, endure, espouse, esteem, evidence, evince, exhibit, express, favor, furnish evidence, give consent, give indication of, give permission, give the go-ahead, give the imprimatur, give thumbs up, go along with, go for, go in for, go to show, grant, have no objection, have regard for, hold with, illustrate, imply, indicate, initial, involve, keep in countenance, like, manifest, mark, nod, nod assent, not refuse, notarize, okay, pass, pass on, pass upon, permit, point to, put up with, ratify, recommend, respect, rubber stamp, rubber-stamp, sanction, say amen to, say aye, say yes, seal, second, set forth, show, show signs of, sign, sign and seal, signalize, signify, speak for itself, speak volumes, stand by, subscribe to, suggest, support, sustain, swear and affirm, swear to, symptomatize, take kindly to, take up, tell, tend to show, think well of, tolerate, undersign, underwrite, uphold, validate, view with favor, visa, vise, vote affirmatively, vote aye, warrant, wink at, yield assent