ratified
If something is considered ratified, it has been officially approved. When a constitutional amendment is voted into law, it is said to be ratified, or formally accepted.
The first known use of ratified in English occurred in the 14th Century. It comes from the Medieval Latin ratificāre, which meant "to confirm or approve." The word ratified is somewhat formal, and is officially used in government proceedings or for contracts or treaties. Still, the idea of something being confirmed or endorsed carries through in Viennese Editor Henry Anatole Grunwald's observation that "Home is one's birthplace, ratified by memory."
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formally approved and invested with legal authoritysynonyms: sanctionedlegalestablished by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules
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Vocabulary lists containing ratified
The Constitution is, quite simply, the basis of all American democracy. The document details what the branches of government must do, are entitled to do, and what they cannot do. Abraham Lincoln said: "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." In addition to cherishing the Constitution as the tangible basis of all our rights and laws, there is always a lot of controversy in political circles about what is and isn't "constitutional," so it is important to be familiar with what the actual document says to be able to evaluate those claims. The entire document can be read here.
In Nic Stone's unflinching exploration of racism, high school student Justyce McAllister writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to process the violence and prejudice he encounters in his community.
Courageous and determined, teenager Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus and became a plaintiff in a landmark civil rights case. This nonfiction account celebrates an often unacknowledged American heroine.