Approve Meaning

/əˈpɹuːv/
B1

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Listen pronunciation

verbTo officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.

verbTo regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of.

I approve of your plan.
I entirely approve of what you say.
I told my mother I wanted to leave school but she didn't approve.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The board members will ____ the proposed budget only after reviewing all expenses.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager will likely ____ your request for a short vacation next week.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro-der. Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-der. Proto-Italic *proβwos Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *proβwāō Latin probō Latin approbōder. Old French aproverbor. Middle English aproven English approve From Middle English aproven, appreoven, appreven, apreven, borrowed from Old French aprover, approver, approuvir, appreuver (“to approve”), from Latin approbō, from ad + probō (“to esteem as good, approve, prove”). Doublet of approbate. By surface analysis, ad- + prove.

"It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits." — 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
"He had long burned with impatience to approve his valour." — 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, section III:
"Opportunities to approve[…]worth." — 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: Second Series:
"He had approved himself a great warrior." — 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II:
"Sore against our will did we of Witchland join with the Demons in that war, foreseeing (as hath been bloodily approved) that the issue must be but the puffing up of the Demons, who desire no other thing than to be lords and tyrants of all the world." — 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 37:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The board members will ____ the proposed budget only after reviewing all expenses.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager will likely ____ your request for a short vacation next week.

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