MEANING
To give formal approval that makes an agreement or decision officially accepted.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- ratify a treaty
- ratify an agreement
On the page
The assembly ratified the agreement by a narrow margin.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- ratify
- Past tense
- ratified
- Past participle
- ratified
- Present participle
- ratifying
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- ratify
- Present continuous
- am/is/are ratifying
- Present perfect
- have/has ratified
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been ratifying
- Past
- ratified
- Past continuous
- was/were ratifying
- Past perfect
- had ratified
- Past perfect continuous
- had been ratifying
- Future
- will ratify
- Future continuous
- will be ratifying
- Future perfect
- will have ratified
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been ratifying
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: ratify; ratifies; ratified; ratified; ratifying Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, qualification. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: ratifies.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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