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  1. appropriate love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Suitable for a particular person, condition, occasion, or place; fitting.
  2. v. To set apart for a specific use: appropriating funds for education.
  3. v. To take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission: Lee appropriated my unread newspaper and never returned it.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To take to one's self in exclusion of others; claim or use as by an exclusive right: as, let no man appropriate the use of a common benefit.
  2. In general, to take for any use; put to use.
  3. To set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use, in exclusion of all other purposes or uses: as, Congress appropriated more money than was needed; to appropriate a spot of ground for a garden.
  4. In ecclesiastical law, to annex, as a benefice, to an ecclesiastical corporation, for its perpetual use.
  5. Set apart for a particular use or person; hence, belonging peculiarly; suitable; fit; befitting; proper.
  6. Synonyms Apt, becoming, in keeping, felicitous.
  7. n. Peculiar characteristic; attribute; proper function; property.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. obsolete Set apart for a particular use or person; reserved.
  2. adj. Hence, belonging peculiarly; peculiar; suitable; fit; proper.
  3. adj. Suitable to the social situation or to social respect or social discreetness; socially correct; socially discreet; well-mannered; proper.
  4. v. transitive, archaic To make suitable; to suit. -- William Paley.
  5. v. transitive To take to one's self in exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right; as, "let no man appropriate the use of a common benefit."
  6. v. transitive To set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use, in exclusion of all others;—with to or for; as, a spot of ground is appropriated for a garden; to appropriate money for the increase of the navy.
  7. v. transitive, UK, ecclesiastical, law To annex, as a benefice, to a spiritual corporation, as its property. --Blackstone.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Set apart for a particular use or person. Hence: Belonging peculiarly; peculiar; suitable; fit; proper.
  2. v. To take to one's self in exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right.
  3. v. To set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use, in exclusion of all others; -- with to or for
  4. v. Archaic To make suitable; to suit.
  5. v. (Eng. Eccl. Law) To annex, as a benefice, to a spiritual corporation, as its property.
  6. n. obsolete A property; attribute.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
  2. adj. suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc
  3. v. take possession of by force, as after an invasion

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English appropriaten, from Latin appropriatus, past participle of approprio ("to make one's own"), from ad ("to") + proprio ("to make one's own"), from proprius ("one's own, private"). (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English appropriat, from Late Latin appropriātus, past participle of appropriāre, to make one's own : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin proprius, own; see per1 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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  • oroboros ApPropriaTe Apr 24, 2008

  • oroboros Appropriate funds; approriate conduct Nov 21, 2007

  • librarymistress I like this word since hearing it in a song by Alanis Morissette (All I really want): "My sweater is on backwards and inside out. And you say how appropriate"... Oct 29, 2007

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‘appropriate’ has been looked up 5158 times, loved by 12 people, added to 68 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 14.