Disapproval

How to spell disapproval

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce disapproval

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disapproval mean?

1. nounThe expression or feeling that something is wrong, unacceptable, or not to be allowed.

Disapproval in a sentence

• The manager's disapproval of the new schedule was obvious from her frown.

• The proposal met with widespread disapproval from local residents.

Where does disapproval come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This noun is built on the verb 'approve', which English took from the Old French 'aprover' in the 1300s, itself descended from the Latin 'approbare', meaning 'to assent to' or 'to regard as good'. That Latin verb combines 'ad-', meaning 'to', with 'probare', meaning 'to test, examine, or judge as good', the same root that gives us 'probe' and 'probation'. The prefix 'dis-', meaning 'not' or 'the reverse of', was attached in English to express the opposite reaction, and 'disapproval' itself is first recorded in the seventeenth century once writers needed a single noun for the act of judging something unfavourably. The spelling trap lives in the join: 'approve' already carries a doubled 'p' (from 'ap-' before the root), so 'disapproval' keeps a single 's' but a double 'p', a pattern writers often reverse. Remembering that the word is simply 'dis' plus 'approval' keeps both halves in order.

How the word is built

• dis- (not, opposite of)
• approv- (from approve, to regard favourably)
• -al (noun suffix)