- approve
- approve, endorse, sanction, accredit, certify mean to have or to express a favorable opinion of.Approve often means no more than this{
daring them . . . to approve her conduct Conrad
}Sometimes, however, it suggests esteem or admiration{Jane secretly approved his discernment— Rose Macaul&y
}Endorse adds to approve the implication of backing or supporting (as by an explicit statement): it is therefore used chiefly in reference to things requiring promotion or publicity{endorse a person’s candidacy
}{endorse the platform of a new political party
}{endorse a brand of cigarette
}Sanction not only implies approval but also authorization{the school dances were sanctioned by the board of education
}The one that sanctions may be not only a person or group but something that provides a standard by which something can be approved and authorized or disapproved and discountenanced{proposed laws not sanctioned by public opinion
}{some churches permit divorce, but do not sanction remarriage
}{these statements are sanctioned by common sense— Joseph Gilbert
}{the court has also sanctioned recently some federal efforts to protect Negroes in the South from violence— Barth
}Accredit and certify usually imply official endorsement and conformity with certain standards. Their selection is dependent on idiom rather than on distinctions in meaning{an accredited herd of dairy cattle
}{certified milk
}{an accredited school
}{a certified teacher
}{a certified public accountant
}{labels by which brain merit is advertised and certified—medals, honors, degrees— Woolf
}Accredited, however, is sometimes used generally as implying public approval or general acceptance{if any . . . break away from accredited custom— lnge
}{sages so fully accredited as Mr. Bertrand Russell— Montague
}Antonyms: disapprove
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
