Meaning & use
ratification
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
The official act of approving a treaty, agreement, or amendment so that it becomes binding.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and followed by of: the ratification of the treaty.
Patterns
- ratification of something
- ratification by someone
The ratification of the treaty took nearly two years.
The amendment needs ratification by three quarters of the states.
Union members voted in favor of ratification of the new contract.
Common combinations
- ratification of a treaty
- The ratification of the treaty ended the dispute.
- await ratification
- The deal must await ratification by parliament.
- require ratification
- Constitutional changes require ratification.
- ratification vote
- A ratification vote is scheduled for Friday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- approval
- Approval is general and can be informal, while ratification is a formal step that makes something binding.
- endorsement
- Endorsement is public support and need not make anything legally valid.
- confirmation
- Confirmation proves or finalizes something, but is not specific to treaties or votes.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ratification or ratio?
ratification vs ratio
A ratio compares two quantities and is unrelated to formal approval.
Practice
The treaty will not take effect until it receives ___ by the national legislature.
Choose one answer.
Ratification is the formal approval that makes a treaty binding. The other words look similar but mean something different.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ratification”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.