1. officially agree to or accept as satisfactory: "the budget was approved by Congress"Similaracceptagree toconsent toassent toacquiesce inconcur inaccede togive one's blessing toblessgive one's seal/stamp of approval torubber-stampsay yes toratifysanctionendorseauthorizemandatelicensewarrantvalidatepassconfirmsupportbackgive one's permission/leaveinformal:give the go-ahead togive the green light togive the OK toOKgive the thumbs up togive the nodsay the wordbuyOppositerefuse
2. prove; show:archaic"he approved himself ripe for military command"
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French aprover, from Latin approbare (see approbate). The original sense was ‘prove, demonstrate’, later ‘corroborate, confirm’, hence ‘pronounce to be satisfactory’ (late Middle English).
