ratification

UK/ˌɹætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/US/ˌɹætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,003 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: ratifications

Ratification is the formal approval that makes an agreement binding. Await ratification, ratification by parliament, the ratification process.

Signing a treaty and ratifying it are two different steps, and a country can sign one and never ratify it at all. Ratification is usually where the domestic politics happens.

Definitions of ratification

1nounratificationThe formal approval that makes an agreement binding.C1
“The treaty will not come into force until after ratification by all member states.”

ratification is an approval.

Where it comes from

Medieval Latin ratificatio comes from ratus, fixed or settled, plus facere, to make.

Medieval Latin
ratificatio
Middle French
ratification
English, today
ratification

From Middle French ratification, from Medieval Latin ratificatio.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

ratification in the wild

Under Article Five, the process to alter the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment or amendments, and subsequent ratification.
Article Five of the United States Constitution
Article Five is silent regarding deadlines for the ratification of proposed amendments, but most amendments proposed since 1917 have included a deadline for ratification.
Article Five of the United States Constitution
Both deadlines passed with the ERA three short of the necessary 38 states for ratification.
Equal Rights Amendment
The treaty came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the documents of ratification were exchanged.
Treaty of Paris (1898)
In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty.
Ratification

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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