APPROVE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Approve

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/əprˈuv/ Listen

verb

Approve v. t. (past & past part. approved; pres. part. approving)

To show to be real or true; to prove. (Obs.) "Wouldst thou approve thy constancy? Approve First thy obedience."

To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically. "Opportunities to approve... worth." " He had approved himself a great warrior." "'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true." "His account... approves him a man of thought."

To sanction officially; to ratify; to confirm; as, to approve the decision of a court-martial.

To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of; as, we approve the measured of the administration.

To make or show to be worthy of approbation or acceptance. "The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God." 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." "They approved of the political institutions."

Approve v. t. (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.

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Etymology of 'Approve'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Approve" Quotes from Famous Books

... requisition of the Commander-in-Chief, can lay claim to no more authority upon these points—than the opinion of the same men, if they had never sat in a public Court upon this question. In this condition are all the members, whether they approve or disapprove of the convention. And with respect to the three who disapprove of the convention,—over and above the general impropriety of having, under these circumstances, pronounced a verdict at all in the character of members of that ...

— The Prose Works of William Wordsworth • William Wordsworth

... know much, except that Aunt Abrahama did not approve of mamma's marriage, and we never saw her nor heard of her. Wasn't it strange," she went on, confidentially, "how soon after poor mamma's death all my ...

— The Shoulders of Atlas - A Novel • Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

... court; would make a legal tribunal not reviewers subsequently, but, in a manner, spectators of the scene; and would carry judicial moderation and skill into the very centre of angry passions; not, as now they act, inefficiently to review, and, by implication, sometimes to approve their most angry ebullitions, but practically to control ...

— The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey, Vol. 2 - With a Preface and Annotations by James Hogg • Thomas de Quincey

... are too stupid, too cowardly to fight and crush them. Christians and slaves submit. The old religion teaches that the world is cruel for most of us, but if we are obedient and humble we shall be rewarded in heaven." Rolfe laughed. "The masters approve of that teaching. They would not have it changed. But for us it is war. We'll strike and keep on striking, we'll break their machinery, spoil their mills and factories, and drive them out. And even if we do not win at once, it is better to suffer and die fighting than to have the life ...

— The Crossing • Winston Churchill

... Yes, and you'll get yourself into a mess; I don't approve of it, and when I see a thing I don't ...

— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy

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