approbation

noun

ap·pro·ba·tion ˌa-prə-ˈbā-shən

Synonyms of approbation next

: commendation, praise

a plan that has won the approbation of the mayor

: an act of approving formally or officially

obsolete : proof

approbatory

ˈa-prə-bə-ˌtȯr-ē

ə-ˈprō-bə-

adjective

Did you know?

Approbation is similar in meaning to approval, and it is also very close to approval etymologically. Both words trace back to the Latin verb approbare, which means “to prove” or “to approve.” Approbation meant “proof” when it first appeared in English in the 1300s, and by the early 1500s it had come to refer to the act of formally or officially approving something, a sense it still retains in certain church-related contexts. Today, however, we mostly use approbation in the looser sense of “approval, admiration, or praise.” The related verb approbate means “to approve or sanction,” and the adjective approbatory means “expressing approval or commendation.”

Examples of approbation in a Sentence

The company has even received the approbation of its former critics. that plan has the approbation of the school board

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

But where the standard Meyers heroine would fuss herself into a fugue state of approbation, Anne remains oddly unruffled. —

Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 29 June 2024 When a substitute teacher at my high school referenced Infowars during class, my friends and I discussed it later with approbation. —

Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 17 June 2024 Saakashvili sought approbation from Western press and American politicians, but that doesn't lessen his achievements. —

Natalia Antelava, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2013 But this institutional approbation also posed a kind of creative challenge. —

Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for approbation