improbate means to disallow, disqualify, or annul. It carries an Arena rating of 1498, earned across 51 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, improbate ranks #2,159 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #3,582 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #4,729 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #5,149 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
Why “improbate” is a great word
IMPROBATE — [Verb] To disallow, disqualify, or annul, especially by formal disapproval. First attested in 1656; from Latin improbātus, the perfect passive participle of improbō ("to disapprove, reject"), from in- ("not") + probō ("to approve, prove, test"). Unlike "invalidate," which nullifies on procedural grounds, or "reprobate," which condemns moral turpitude, "improbate" is the official rejection of worthiness itself. It is the notary's withheld seal, the judge's gavel falling on an inadmissible will, the archivist's stamp of exclusion—a quiet, bureaucratic verdict that something does not, and will never, count.
Etymology
First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin improbātus, perfect passive participle of improbō (“to disapprove”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (“not”) + probō (“to approve”).
verb
- To disallow, disqualify, or annul.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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