The Collaborative International Dictionary
Approbative \Ap"pro*ba*tive\, a. [Cf. F. approbatif.]
Approving, or implying approbation.
--Milner.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Expressing approval 2 sanction officially, giving authorization or approval to something. n. (context linguistics English) A word or grammatical form which denote a positive affect expressing the appreciation or approval of the speaker.
WordNet
adj. expressing or manifesting praise or approval; "approbative criticism" [syn: approving, approbatory, plausive]
Wikipedia
In linguistics, approbatives are words or grammatical forms that denote a positive affect; that is, they express the appreciation or approval of the speaker. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in an approbative sense. In historical linguistics, this phenomenon is known as amelioration (e.g., " punk").
Usage examples of "approbative".
And the approbative shouts of his half-intoxicated auditors filled his simple soul with delight and pride.
However, a certain ascetic quality in his thin lips and straight thin nose, and a trace of nobility in his chin and jawline, made it impossible to deny him the approbative 'distinguished'.