approval
Pluralapprovals
- 1Permission to do or have something, or an indication that a proposal or person meets the required standard.
The committee gave its approval for the new building project.
Final approval rests with the board of directors.
Similarpermission, consent, authorization, sanction, clearance
Oppositerejection, refusal, denial, veto
Note
Committees and offices run on this sense, built plainly from approve + -al. Used countably, it names a single sign-off you obtain, as when you need an approval on a purchase order. Used uncountably, it names permission in general. Keep it apart from the sense of warm praise: this approval authorizes something to go ahead, while that one encourages a person.
- 2A show of favorable acceptance and encouragement that praises someone or something while also condoning it.
Her teacher's approval gave her the confidence to keep writing.
The audience showed its approval with a long round of applause.
Similarpraise, admiration, acceptance, encouragement, appreciation
Oppositedisapproval, condemnation, criticism, censure
- 3An item a seller mails to a collector to match their stated interests, which the collector may then buy or return.
Each month the dealer mailed him stamps on approval to review at home.
She returned the entire approval, finding nothing that fit her collection.
Note
Among stamp collectors this is a trade term, and the noun works in two ways. Countably, it names the parcel itself, so a collector can keep part of an approval and send the rest back. Uncountably, it names the arrangement, in the phrase on approval: material sent on approval is the collector's to examine before any sale. That choice to buy or return links it to the permission sense.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from the verb "approve" combined with the suffix "-al".