appropriateness

adjective

suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, person, occasion, etc.: an appropriate example; an appropriate dress.

belonging to or peculiar to a person; proper: Each played his appropriate part.

verb (used with object)

to set apart, authorize, or legislate for some specific purpose or use: The legislature appropriated funds for the university.

to take to or for oneself; take possession of.

to take without permission or consent; seize; expropriate: He appropriated the trust funds for himself.

to steal, especially to commit petty theft.

Relevant Questions

What Is Appropriation?

00:10

Appropriateness is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Origin:
1515–25; < Late Latin appropriātus made one's own (past participle of appropriāre), equivalent to Latin ap- ap-¹ + propri(us) one's own + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

ap·pro·pri·ate·ly, adverb

ap·pro·pri·ate·ness, noun

ap·pro·pri·a·tive

[uh-proh-pree-ey-tiv, -uh-tiv] , adjective

ap·pro·pri·a·tive·ness, noun

ap·pro·pri·a·tor, noun

non·ap·pro·pri·a·tive, adjective

qua·si-ap·pro·pri·ate, adjective

qua·si-ap·pro·pri·ate·ly, adverb

re·ap·pro·pri·ate, verb (used with object), re·ap·pro·pri·at·ed, re·ap·pro·pri·at·ing.

well-ap·pro·pri·at·ed, adjective

Can be confused: appropriate, apropos, expropriate.

Synonyms
1. befitting, apt, meet, felicitous, suited, proper, due, becoming, pertinent. 3. apportion, allocate, assign.

Antonyms
1. unsuitable, inept.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To appropriateness

Collins

World English Dictionary

appropriate

—*adj*
1.	right or suitable; fitting
2.	rare particular; own: they had their appropriate methods

—vb
3.	to take for one's own use, esp illegally or without permission
4.	to put aside (funds, etc) for a particular purpose or person

[C15: from Late Latin appropriāre to make one's own, from Latin proprius one's own; see proper]

ap'propriable

—*adj*

ap'propriately

—*adv*

ap'propriateness

—n

ap'propriative

—*adj*

ap'propriator

—n

appropriate

—*adj*
1.	right or suitable; fitting
2.	rare particular; own: they had their appropriate methods

—vb
3.	to take for one's own use, esp illegally or without permission
4.	to put aside (funds, etc) for a particular purpose or person

[C15: from Late Latin appropriāre to make one's own, from Latin proprius one's own; see proper]

ap'propriable

—*adj*

ap'propriately

—*adv*

ap'propriateness

—n

ap'propriative

—*adj*

ap'propriator

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

appropriate

1520s, from L.L. appropriatus, pp. of appropriare, adpropriare (c.450) "to make one's own," from L. ad- "to" + propriare "take as one's own," from proprius "one's own" (see proper). Adj. sense of "specially suitable, proper" is from 1540s.

Example sentences

Appropriateness matters--retirees shouldn't put their living expenses in tech

stocks.

Emphasize the functions of the adaptations and the appropriateness of the

names, not how well the drawings are made.

The appropriateness of what a judge does is a legal matter, judged by the

standards of the legal community.

And that, in turn, is a different question from the news value and relevance

and appropriateness of the story.

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eclectic ought propriety tin ear

Matching Quote

"If we are ever to construct a feminist movement that is not based on the premise that men and women are always at war with one another, then we must be willing to acknowledge the appropriateness of complex critical responses to writing by men even if it is sexist. Clearly women can learn from writers whose work is sexist, even be inspired by it, because sexism may be simply one dimension of that work. Concurrently fiercely critiquing the sexism does not mean that one does not value the work."

-bell hooks