APPROVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does approve mean? 

• APPROVE (verb)
  The verb APPROVE has 2 senses:

1. give sanction to

2. judge to be right or commendable; think well of

  Familiarity information: APPROVE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• APPROVE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they approve    ... he / she / it approves   
Past simple: approved   
Past participle: approved   
-ing form: approving   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give sanction to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

approve; O.K.; okay; sanction

Context example:

I approve of his educational policies

Hypernyms (to "approve" is one way to...):

authorise; authorize; clear; pass (grant authorization or clearance for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "approve"):

sanction (give religious sanction to, such as through on oath)

visa (approve officially)

back; endorse; indorse; plump for; plunk for; support (be behind; approve of)

confirm (support a person for a position)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

disapprove (deem wrong or inappropriate)

Derivation:

approbation (official recognition or approval)

approbative (expressing or manifesting praise or approval)

approval (the formal act of approving)

approver (an authority with power to approve)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Judge to be right or commendable; think well of

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "approve" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "approve"):

rubberstamp (approve automatically)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

disapprove (consider bad or wrong)

Derivation:

approbation (official recognition or approval)

approbation (official approval)

approbative; approbatory (expressing or manifesting praise or approval)

approval (a feeling of liking something or someone good)

 Context examples 

This would be a perfect month to voice ideas, for you will find it easier than usual to get them approved and funded.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Toto did not approve of this new comrade at first, for he could not forget how nearly he had been crushed between the Lion's great jaws.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Neither OIT nor omalizumab (trade name Xolair) currently is approved for the treatment of food allergy.

(Omalizumab improves efficacy of oral immunotherapy for multiple food allergies, National Institutes of Health)

Ethyl pyruvate, which has a fruity smell and is approved as a flavor agent in food, blocked attraction of mosquitoes to a human hand.

(How mosquitoes detect people, NIH)

In the current study, specialists wanted to see if drugs already approved for other uses were able to stimulate OPCs to increase myelination.

(Drugs that activate brain stem cells may reverse multiple sclerosis, NIH)

Matching mitochondrial DNA to nuclear DNA could be important when selecting potential donors for the recently-approved mitochondrial donation treatment, in order to prevent potential health problems later in life.

(Interplay between mitochondria and the nucleus may have implications for changing cell’s ‘batteries’, University of Cambridge)

Known as Sativex out of Brazil, Mevatyl has been approved in 28 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, and Denmark.

(Brazil grants registration for first cannabis-based drug, Agência Brasil)

There are no approved drugs for the disease, but prompt diagnosis and aggressive supportive care can improve survival.

(Genetics of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak, NIH)

The NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) researchers first studied the effects of single approved drugs and investigative compounds on DIPG cell models grown in the laboratory from patient cells.

(Scientists find promising drug combination against lethal childhood brain cancers, National Institutes of Health)

Once there, they catalyse the in situ synthesis of an anticancer compound (panobinostat, an anticancer drug approved in 2015).

(Scientists successfully deliver “Trojan horse” catalysts into cancerous tumour cells to destroy them from within, Universities of Granada)