To approve is to speak or think favorably of someone or something: to approve the policies of the administration. In some uses, approve signifies agreement or consent; in other uses, approve conveys a more formal confirmation or sanctioning, as when the Senate promptly approves a bill. The synonym endorse is most commonly used to talk about official and usually public displays of support. When someone endorses something, they approve, support, or sustain that thing. You may hear of a newspaper endorsing a candidate in a political campaign, or, of another politician endorsing, or putting their name behind, a candidate. The putting of one’s name to something takes a more literal turn in other uses of the word: to endorse a check is to designate oneself as payee by signing it, usually on the reverse side.

To irritate someone is to excite them to impatience or anger. This verb is commonly used to talk about an emotional disturbance that is relatively short-lived and not terribly deep—it might irritate you, for instance, if someone refuses to answer a question. The synonym rankle implies continued anger or emotional disturbance. When something rankles you, it causes keen irritation or bitter resentment, the kind that builds over time or festers. Harsh criticism from a colleague might rankle you, or eat at you, long after it is uttered. Unpleasant though all of this may be, the term's meaning has softened over time; on entering English, rankle referred to the festering or putrefaction of physical wounds.

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which announced the colonies as "Free and Independent States." Independent, in this historical context, means "not subject to another's authority or jurisdiction." But the adjective has many applications that do not deal with matters of government or political rule: an independent thinker, for instance, is someone who is not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion. The synonym autonomous is commonly used to describe self-governance, especially in the context of regions that have power over their own affairs, as certain parts of China. Though you may encounter this freewheeling descriptor used of vehicles that are able to operate with little or no human control or intervention.