approve
/əˈpɹuːv/
"approve" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“approve” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,208. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #6,208
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
Corpus desk
Index EN-approve · approve · English
approve · rank #6,208 · 8 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #6,208
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH architect
Nearest frequency peer: architect (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “approve”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- advances
advances
93,797 corpus weight
- agrees
agrees
93,796 corpus weight
- approve
approve
93,793 corpus weight
- architect
architect
93,792 corpus weight
- basin
basin
93,791 corpus weight
- beneficial
beneficial
93,790 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “approve” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | approve |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əˈpɹuːv/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #6,208 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “approve” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around approve (IPA /əˈpɹuːv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,208 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for approve, with forms such as "apporve", "approev", and "approvve". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "approx", "approved", "approves", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro-der. Proto… The correct English form is approve, spelled A-P-P-R-O-V-E.
Definition
- 1To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
- 2To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of.
- 3To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.
- 4To consider worthy (to); to be pleased (with); to accept.
- 5To show to be worthy; to demonstrate the merits of.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how approve appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Although we may disagree with it, we must nevertheless approve the sentence handed down by the court-martial.
It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro-der. Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-der. Proto-Italic *proβwos Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *proβwāō Latin probō Latin approbōder. Old French aproverbor. Middle English aproven English approve From Middle English aproven, appreoven, appreven, apreven, borrowed from Old French aprover, approver, approuvir, appreuver (“to approve”), from Latin approbō, from ad + probō (“to esteem as good, approve, prove”). Doublet of approbate. By surface analysis, ad- + prove.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- apporve
- approev
- approvve
- apprrove
- apprvoe
- aprove
- aprpove
- paprove
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of approve - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "approve"?
What does "approve" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "approve"?
How do you pronounce "approve"?
What is the origin of the word "approve"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "approve", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "approve". Here's where to go from here.
- "approve" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "approx". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #6,208 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.