approval vs commendation

approval and commendation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
approval	Yes	No	No	No
commendation	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, approval and commendation are synonyms defined as:

approval (noun)	commendation (noun)
the formal act of approving	an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement
a message expressing a favorable opinion	a message expressing a favorable opinion
a feeling of liking something or someone good
acceptance as satisfactory