approve

[əˈpɹuːv]

/[əˈpɹuːv]/ verb

The verdict

“approve” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - akzeptieren, anerkennen, genehmigen

Corpus desk

Index DE-approve · approve · German

approve · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for approve
PropertyValue
Headwordapprove
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[əˈpɹuːv]
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „approve“ im Deutschen

approveliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

approve is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [əˈpɹuːv]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "akzeptieren, anerkennen, genehmigen".

No generated misspelling entries exist for approve in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is approve, spelled A-P-P-R-O-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    akzeptieren, anerkennen, genehmigen

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how approve appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Although we may disagree with it, we must nevertheless approve the sentence handed down by the court-martial.“

Synonyms

authorizeendorse

Antonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "approve"?
"approve" is spelled A-P-P-R-O-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is [əˈpɹuːv].
What does "approve" mean?
As a verb, "approve" means: akzeptieren, anerkennen, genehmigen
How do you pronounce "approve"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "approve" is [əˈpɹuːv]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "approve" come from?
"approve" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list