Link Centre Dictionary

acknowledge

ack·now·ledge

UK/əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/ US/əkˈnɒɫ.ɪd͡ʒ/ fairly common

verb

1.

declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of

  • “He admitted his errors”
  • “She acknowledged that she might have forgotten”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

report the receipt of

  • “The program committee acknowledged the submission of the authors of the paper”
Synonyms
3.

express recognition of the presence or existence of, or acquaintance with

  • “He never acknowledges his colleagues when they run into him in the hallway”
  • “She acknowledged his complement with a smile”
  • “it is important to acknowledge the work of others in one”
Synonyms
4.

express obligation, thanks, or gratitude for

  • “We must acknowledge the kindness she showed towards us”
Synonyms
5.

accept as legally binding and valid

  • “acknowledge the deed”
6.

accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority

  • “The Crown Prince was acknowledged as the true heir to the throne”
  • “We do not recognize your gods”
Synonyms

Origin

Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English aknowen (“to recognize, acknowledge”) and knowlechen (“to discover, reveal, acknowledge”). The former verb is from Old English oncnāwan, ācnāwan (“to know, recognize, acknowledge”), from on + cnāwan (“to know”). The latter is derived from the noun at hand in knowledge. For the formation compare Latin agnōscō and Russian призна́ть (priznátʹ), with cognate roots. The /k/-sound was preserved by being redistributed to the preceding syllable: /əˈkn-/ > /əkˈn-/. The -c- was inserted accordingly to reflect this pronunciation more clearly.

Phrases

  • acknowledge the corn

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.