approve


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ap·prove

 (ə-pro͞ov′)
v. ap·proved, ap·prov·ing, ap·proves
v.tr.
1. To consent to officially or formally; confirm or sanction: The Senate approved the treaty.
2. To consider right or good: "He came to ask me ... whether I approved his choice altogether" (Jane Austen).
3. Obsolete To prove or attest.
v.intr.
To show, feel, or express approval: We didn't approve of the decision.

[Middle English appreven, approven, from Old French aprover, from Latin approbāre : ad-, ad- + probāre, to test (from probus, good; see per in Indo-European roots).]

ap·prov′a·ble adj.
ap·prov′ing·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

approve

(əˈpruːv)
vb
1. (when: intr, often foll by of) to consider fair, good, or right; commend (a person or thing)
2. (tr) to authorize or sanction
3. (tr) obsolete to demonstrate or prove by trial
[C14: from Old French aprover, from Latin approbāre to approve, from probāre to test, prove]
apˈprovingly adv

approve

(əˈpruːv)
vb
(Law) (tr) law to improve or increase the value of (waste or common land), as by enclosure
[C15: from Old French approuer to turn to advantage, from prou advantage]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ap•prove

(əˈpruv)

v. -proved, -prov•ing. v.t.
1. to speak or think favorably of: I approve your choice.
2. to find to be acceptable: Do you approve the plan?
3. to confirm or sanction formally; ratify: The Senate approved the bill.
v.i.
4. to have a favorable view: They don't approve of my friends.
[1300–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French aprover < Latin approbāre=ap- ap-1 + probāre to prove]
ap•prov′ing•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

approve

- Its original sense was "prove, demonstrate."
See also related terms for prove.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

approve

1. 'approve of'

If you approve of someone or something, you have a good opinion of them.

His mother did not approve of Julie.
Stefan approved of the whole affair.

Be Careful!
Don't say that you 'approve to' someone or something.

2. 'approve'

If someone in authority approves a plan or idea, they formally agree to it and say that it can happen.

The White House approved the proposal.
The directors quickly approved the new deal.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'of' for this meaning of approve. Don't say, for example, 'The directors quickly approved of the new deal'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

approve


Past participle: approved
Gerund: approving

Imperative
approve
approve
Present
I approve
you approve
he/she/it approves
we approve
you approve
they approve
Preterite
I approved
you approved
he/she/it approved
we approved
you approved
they approved
Present Continuous
I am approving
you are approving
he/she/it is approving
we are approving
you are approving
they are approving
Present Perfect
I have approved
you have approved
he/she/it has approved
we have approved
you have approved
they have approved
Past Continuous
I was approving
you were approving
he/she/it was approving
we were approving
you were approving
they were approving
Past Perfect
I had approved
you had approved
he/she/it had approved
we had approved
you had approved
they had approved
Future
I will approve
you will approve
he/she/it will approve
we will approve
you will approve
they will approve
Future Perfect
I will have approved
you will have approved
he/she/it will have approved
we will have approved
you will have approved
they will have approved
Future Continuous
I will be approving
you will be approving
he/she/it will be approving
we will be approving
you will be approving
they will be approving
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been approving
you have been approving
he/she/it has been approving
we have been approving
you have been approving
they have been approving
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been approving
you will have been approving
he/she/it will have been approving
we will have been approving
you will have been approving
they will have been approving
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been approving
you had been approving
he/she/it had been approving
we had been approving
you had been approving
they had been approving
Conditional
I would approve
you would approve
he/she/it would approve
we would approve
you would approve
they would approve
Past Conditional
I would have approved
you would have approved
he/she/it would have approved
we would have approved
you would have approved
they would have approved
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.approve - give sanction toapprove - give sanction to; "I approve of his educational policies"
authorize, authorise, clear, pass - grant authorization or clearance for; "Clear the manuscript for publication"; "The rock star never authorized this slanderous biography"
sanction - give religious sanction to, such as through on oath; "sanctify the marriage"
visa - approve officially; "The list of speakers must be visaed"
back, endorse, indorse, plump for, plunk for, support - be behind; approve of; "He plumped for the Labor Party"; "I backed Kennedy in 1960"
confirm - support a person for a position; "The Senate confirmed the President's candidate for Secretary of Defense"
disapprove, reject - deem wrong or inappropriate; "I disapprove of her child rearing methods"
2.approve - judge to be right or commendableapprove - judge to be right or commendable; think well of
pass judgment, evaluate, judge - form a critical opinion of; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"; "How do you evaluate this grant proposal?" "We shouldn't pass judgment on other people"
rubberstamp - approve automatically
disapprove - consider bad or wrong
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

approve

verb agree to, second, allow, pass, accept, confirm, recommend, permit, sanction, advocate, bless, endorse, uphold, mandate, authorize, ratify, go along with, subscribe to, consent to, buy into (informal), validate, countenance, rubber stamp, accede to, give the go-ahead to (informal), give the green light to, assent to, concur in, greenlight, O.K. or okay (informal) MPs approved the bill by a majority of 97.
agree to veto, disallow, discountenance
approve of something or someone favour, like, support, respect, praise, appreciate, agree with, admire, endorse, esteem, acclaim, applaud, commend, be pleased with, big up (slang, chiefly Caribbean), have a good opinion of, regard highly, think highly of Not everyone approves of the festival.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

approve

verb
1. To be favorably disposed toward:
Informal: go for.
2. To give one's consent to:
Informal: OK.
3. To accept officially:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
استحسنيَرْضى عَن، يَسْتَحْسِنيُوافِقُيُوافَق عَلى
schvalovatschválit
godkendebifalde
hyväksyäsuvaita
odobriti
líka vel, fallast ásamòykkja
承認する
승인하다
aprobuotiišbandymui
apstiprinātatzinīgi novērtētpiekrist
odobriti
godkänna
อนุมัติ
onaylamakuygun bulmakbeğenmek
chấp thuận

approve

[əˈpruːv]
A. VT [+ plan, decision, legislation, expenditure, minutes] → aprobar; [+ drug, medicine, method] → autorizar
the council has approved the construction of a hotelel ayuntamiento ha dado su aprobación para or ha aprobado la construcción de un hotel
B. VI
1. (= be in favour) I think she'll approvecreo que estará de acuerdo, creo que le parecerá bien
he's not allowed sweets, his mother doesn't approveno le dejan comer caramelos, a su madre no le gusta
2. (= give authorization) → dar su aprobación
if Congress approves, the project will go ahead next yearsi el Congreso da su aprobación or lo aprueba, el proyecto se llevará a cabo el año que viene
approve of VI + PREP
1. to approve of sth: not everyone approves of the festivalno todo el mundo está de acuerdo con la celebración del festival
he doesn't approve of drinkingno le parece bien or no le gusta que se beba alcohol
I don't approve of her goingno me parece bien or no me gusta que vaya
2. to approve of sb: they don't approve of my fiancéno les parece bien mi novio
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

approve

[əˈpruːv]
vt [+ proposal, plan, resolution, measure, merger, budget] → approuver, donner son approbation à; [+ treaty, deal, legislation] → ratifier
to be approved by sb → être approuvé par qn
viêtre d'accord
Do you approve? → Êtes-vous d'accord?
approve of
vt fus [+ choice, proposal, behaviour, idea] → approuver
I don't approve of his choice → Je n'approuve pas son choix., Je désapprouve son choix.
They didn't approve of his girlfriend
BUT Sa copine ne leur a pas plu.
My father did not approve of the marriage
BUT Mon père était contre ce mariage.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

approve

vt (= consent to) decisionbilligen, gutheißen; minutes, motionannehmen; project, sale, deal, plangenehmigen; (= recommend) hotel, campsite etcempfehlen; an approved campsiteein empfohlener Campingplatz
vi to approve of somebody/somethingvon jdm/etw etwas halten, etw billigen or gutheißen; I don’t approve of him/itich halte nichts von ihm/davon; do you approve of him/that?hältst du etwas von ihm/davon?; I don’t approve of children smokingich billige nicht or kann es nicht gutheißen, dass Kinder rauchen; she doesn’t approvesie missbilligt das; how’s this shirt, do you approve?gefällt dir dies Hemd?
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

approve

[əˈpruːv] vtapprovare
approve of vi + prepapprovare
I don't approve of kids going to pubs → non approvo or disapprovo che i ragazzi vadano al pub
she doesn't approve of me → disapprova il mio modo di essere
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

approve

(əˈpruːv) verb
1. (often with of) to be pleased with or think well of (a person, thing etc). I approve of your decision.
2. to agree to (something). The committee approved the plan.
apˈproval noun
the act or state of agreeing to or being pleased with (a person, thing etc). This proposal meets with my approval.
on approval
to be sent or given back to a shop etc if not satisfactory. She bought two dresses on approval.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

approve

يُوافِقُ schvalovat godkende genehmigen εγκρίνω aprobar hyväksyä approuver odobriti approvare 承認する 승인하다 goedkeuren godkjenne zatwierdzić aprovar одобрять godkänna อนุมัติ onaylamak chấp thuận 赞成
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

approve

v. aprobar, aceptar, dar estimación.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
The radiant eyes gazed at him questioningly: would he approve or disapprove of her diary?
"I quite, quite approve, my dearest!" said he with a significant look, and after a short pause he added: "And I behaved badly today.
It is a passion I myself approve, and have already brought your father into the approbation of it.
Chairman and Gintlemen," said the Other, "it sames to me, and I'm hopin' yez wull approve the suggistion, that an appropriet way to honour the mimory of the decaised would be to erect an emolument sootably inscribed wid his vartues."
She had been graciously pleased to approve of both of the discourses which he had already had the honour of preaching before her.
In that year a large part of it was published in covers with the title The Cynic's Word Book , a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve. To quote the publishers of the present work:
She was first called to observe and approve him farther, by a reflection which Elinor chanced one day to make on the difference between him and his sister.
Carton, still drinking the punch, rejoined, "Why should I not approve?"
His whole life had been spent in administrative work, and consequently, when he did not approve of anything, his disapproval was softened by the recognition of the inevitability of mistakes and the possibility of reform in every department.
"But do you approve of it, Harry?" asked the painter, walking up and down the room and biting his lip.
"And you approve of what she said -- that is to say, you declare that the signs which she mentioned are really those by means of which you are accustomed to convey your thoughts?"
In case of emergency Chief Secretary Balochistan would approve medical claims of rupees 2 million for in-door patients while more than 2 million would be directly approved by Chief Minister Balochistan.