Approbative

/ˈæp.ɹəˌbeɪ.tɪv/ · adjective

Meaning

Expressing approval..

Definitions by Sense

1. Expressing approval.
2. Sanctioning officially, giving authorization or approval to something.
3. (linguistics) A word or grammatical form which denotes a positive affect expressing the appreciation or approval of the speaker.

Example Sentences

approbative criticism

His late Display of unparralled [sic] Generosity to a distressed, though reputable Family, will be enrolled in the Court above; and from the recording Angel, instead of a Tear, extort an approbative smile.

[…] the approbative shouts of his half-intoxicated auditors filled his simple soul with delight and pride.

An Irish friend then in his nineties once asked me if there were any Yiddish words that weren’t critical. I told him there must be some, though I did not know them. Even words that might seem approbative like chachem for wise man, with the slightest turn take on an ironic twist.

And if the words have any graine of truth in them, they must be undestood [sic] not of an Authorative, but onely of a Consultive Power to advise him, or at the most approbative, to give their assent to Laws propounded, he having limited himselfe to make no Laws without them.

Synonyms for approbative

Antonyms for approbative

Related Words

Word Forms

• more approbative
• most approbative
• approbatives

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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