approved

The word “approved” means officially accepted or given permission. In plain terms, given official permission, or proven to work well.

“Approved” is pronounced uh-PROOVD (/əˈpɹuːvd/ in IPA).

Here is “approved” used in a sentence: “The medicine was finally approved for use by doctors.”

“Approved” is an adjective.

“Approved” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Approved” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: officially accepted or given permission.

Approved means officially sanctioned by someone with authority — a manager, board, or regulator has given formal permission. Accepted is broader and softer, and can simply mean received or agreed to without any official stamp. Approval implies a decision-maker signing off, while acceptance can be quiet or even passive.

The main opposites are 'rejected,' 'denied,' and 'declined,' meaning permission was refused. 'Disapproved' and 'unapproved' also work — unapproved suggesting something never went through the process, while rejected means it was formally turned down. The right choice depends on whether a decision was actually made against it.

It means a person or body with authority has formally reviewed the thing and given it official permission or acceptance. An approved loan, plan, or product has passed the required checks and is cleared to go ahead. In effect, approval turns a request into a green light.