disapprove

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + approve.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The OED compares desapprouver, French désapprouver, to censure (1413, rare before 1535), and the earlier English verb disprove.^[2] Barnhart instead takes it as probably borrowed from a Middle French *desaprover.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To prove an assertion untrue; to disprove or refute: 1481, in John Tiptoft's translation of Buonaccorso da Montemagno, printed by Caxton.^[2][7] Etymonline dates it to the late 15th century in this sense, now obsolete.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, the reverse of approve, to regard as wrong or to censure, is first recorded perhaps in 1562,^[2] although Etymonline dates it from the 1640s.^[3] The construction disapprove of followed in 1611 and the absolute use, without an object, in 1717, in Pope.^[2] From 1644 it also meant to refuse to sanction, as of an official body rejecting a proposal.^[2][8] The old sense "disprove" was still used until the late 18th century, according to the Shorter Oxford,^[4] and the OED calls it now rare.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined the verb as to dislike, censure or find fault with.^[9] The noun disapproval dates from 1662.^[7]

Timeline

• 1481 – to prove untrue, to disprove.^[2][7]
• c. 1562 – to regard with disfavour or moral censure.^[2]
• 1611 – disapprove of.^[2]
• 1644 – to refuse to sanction, to reject.^[2]
• 1717 – intransitive, to show condemnation.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To think that someone or something is wrong or bad; often with of: Her parents disapproved of the late nights.^[10][8][2]
2. To refuse to approve; to reject or decline to sanction: The council disapproved the building plan.^[10][8][2]
3. To have or express an unfavourable opinion: He frowned but did not openly disapprove.^[8][2]
4. (obsolete) To disprove.^[8][4][2]

Word family

• disapprover
• disapprovingly

Related words

• disapprobation
• disapproval
• approve
• disprove
• approval

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins