ACKNOWLEDGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does acknowledge mean? 

• ACKNOWLEDGE (verb)
  The verb ACKNOWLEDGE has 6 senses:

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

2. report the receipt of

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

4. express obligation, thanks, or gratitude for

5. accept as legally binding and valid

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

  Familiarity information: ACKNOWLEDGE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACKNOWLEDGE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they acknowledge    ... he / she / it acknowledges   
Past simple: acknowledged   
Past participle: acknowledged   
-ing form: acknowledging   

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

acknowledge; admit

Context example:

She acknowledged that she might have forgotten

Hypernyms (to "acknowledge" is one way to...):

adjudge; declare; hold (declare to be)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acknowledge"):

attorn (acknowledge a new land owner as one's landlord)

write off (concede the loss or worthlessness of something or somebody)

make no bones about (acknowledge freely and openly)

sustain (admit as valid)

concede; confess; profess (admit (to a wrongdoing))

confess (confess to God in the presence of a priest, as in the Catholic faith)

confess; fink; squeal (confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure)

avouch; avow (admit openly and bluntly; make no bones about)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

acknowledgeable (capable of being acknowledged)

acknowledgment (the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Report the receipt of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

acknowledge; receipt

Context example:

The program committee acknowledged the submission of the authors of the paper

Hypernyms (to "acknowledge" is one way to...):

communicate; pass; pass along; pass on; put across (transmit information)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

acknowledge; notice

Context example:

it is important to acknowledge the work of others in one's own writing

Hypernyms (to "acknowledge" is one way to...):

react; respond (show a response or a reaction to something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acknowledge"):

cite; mention (commend)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

acknowledgment (a statement acknowledging something or someone)

acknowledgment (a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Express obligation, thanks, or gratitude for

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

acknowledge; recognise; recognize

Context example:

We must acknowledge the kindness she showed towards us

Hypernyms (to "acknowledge" is one way to...):

give thanks; thank (express gratitude or show appreciation to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "acknowledge"):

appreciate (recognize with gratitude; be grateful for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

acknowledgment (a statement acknowledging something or someone)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Accept as legally binding and valid

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

acknowledge the deed

Hypernyms (to "acknowledge" is one way to...):

accept (consider or hold as true)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

acknowledge; know; recognise; recognize

Context example:

We do not recognize your gods

Hypernyms (to "acknowledge" is one way to...):

accept (consider or hold as true)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

acknowledgment (a statement acknowledging something or someone)

acknowledgment (the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged)

 Context examples 

With St. Paul, I acknowledge myself the chiefest of sinners; but I do not suffer this sense of my personal vileness to daunt me.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Anne could just acknowledge within herself such a possibility of having been induced to marry him, as made her shudder at the idea of the misery which must have followed.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

No one would own that they were tired of the experiment, but by Friday night each acknowledged to herself that she was glad the week was nearly done.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“Oh!” said Steerforth, “everyone who likes me, has a claim on her that is sure to be acknowledged.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Weedon Scott patted him, and his throat rumbled an acknowledging growl.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Susan was only acting on the same truths, and pursuing the same system, which her own judgment acknowledged, but which her more supine and yielding temper would have shrunk from asserting.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Her intimacy there had made him seriously determine on her being handsomely legacied hereafter; and to speak of her therefore as the almost acknowledged future heiress of Fullerton naturally followed.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Using transposons to generate new mutations offers a transgene-free method of breeding that acknowledges the current EU legislation on Genetically Modified Organisms.

(Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops, University of Cambridge)

However, they acknowledge that — like living organisms — no two biohybrid machines will be the same.

(Researchers build microscopic biohybrid robots propelled by muscles, nerves, National Science Foundation)

"The bottom line is that we don't know the answer," Jacobs acknowledged.

(Vitamin C Might Shorten Tuberculosis Treatment Time, Study Indicates, VOA/Steve Baragona)