as in approving
to give official acceptance of as satisfactory
Lincoln's home state of Illinois was the first to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provided for the abolition of slavery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ratifying
America’s ratification that year broke a logjam of inaction by nations that had signed the agreement but were wary about actually ratifying it as a legal document.
—
Gary W. Yohe, The Conversation, 10 Jan. 2026
Key members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Sunday to keep production levels steady through the end of March, once again ratifying a decision first made in November to suspend last year’s sequence of swift increases.
—Grant Smith, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2026
Advertisement When Americans gathered to debate the Constitution at their state ratifying conventions, the 12-juror requirement was a given.
—Time, 17 Dec. 2025
The United States signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996 during President Bill Clinton's first term, but the Senate voted against ratifying the treaty.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Delegates of Workers United and the company resumed bargaining in April 2024 with the goal of ratifying a new contract by the end of the year, but that never came to pass as negotiations stalled with both sides blaming the other for not coming to the table.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 2 Oct. 2025
Bethea said the fact that Sky Chefs has delayed ratifying their contract at BWI is a testament to its values.
—Chevall Pryce, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
The United States has long upheld most tenets of UNCLOS, benefiting from its framework even without ratifying it.
—Kevin Green, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratifying
Verb
-
The agency ended the year by approving two different drugs for gonorrhea, the first new options for the disease in decades.—
-
Trauernicht, 46, is accused of approving McFadden’s fraudulent timesheets while seeking a romantic relationship with her.—
Verb
-
SwitchBot positioned the Onero H1 as a practical household assistant rather than a showcase robot, confirming that pre-orders would open following CES as part of its broader smart home automation ecosystem.—
-
The medical team carries out a detailed diagnosis of the patient’s hair-loss pattern and donor capacity before confirming the number of grafts and the technique.—
Cite this Entry
“Ratifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratifying. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share