English Reference
Verb

ratify

v.
C1 Advanced US /ˈɹætəˌfaɪ/ UK /ɹˈætɪfˌaɪ/ rat·i·fy UK spelling ratified, ratifies, ratifying

v.to officially agree to a decision or a document so that it becomes legal. You use this when a group or a country signs a deal to make it official.

v.to formally approve or confirm a decision, treaty, or agreement. Often used in legal or political contexts to describe the process of making a document official.


SIMPLE

The committee must ratify the new rules before they start.

CONTEXTUAL

The treaty will not be legally binding until the president ratifies it with the national parliament.

COMPLEX

After months of intense negotiation, the final agreement was ratified by both nations, marking a significant milestone in their long-standing diplomatic efforts to resolve the border dispute.

In 1791, Congress ratified an addition to the country’s founding document that established civil protections like the freedom of religion.

Al Jazeera· 15 Aug 2026

Under the terms of the 1929 Geneva Convention , which Japan had signed but failed to ratify , POWs were supposed to be treated humanely and afforded certain rights .

Smithsonian Magazine· 5 Aug 2026

From Old French ratifier, from Medieval Latin ratifico, from Latin ratus (“reckoned”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin ratus
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated