| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| acknowledge |
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| SYLLABICATION: | ac·knowl·edge |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   k-n l  j |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: ac·knowl·edged, ac·knowl·edg·ing, ac·knowl·edg·es
1a. To admit the existence, reality, or truth of. b. To recognize as being valid or having force or power. 2a. To express recognition of: acknowledge a friend's smile. b. To express thanks or gratitude for. 3. To report the receipt of: acknowledge a letter. 4. Law To accept or certify as legally binding: acknowledge a deed. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Probably blend of Middle English knowlechen, to acknowledge (from knouen, to know; see know) and Middle English aknouen, to recognize (from Old English oncn wan, to know ( on-, on; see on + cnwan, to know; see know). | | OTHER FORMS: | ac·knowledge·a·ble —ADJECTIVE
| | SYNONYMS: | acknowledge, admit, own, avow, confess, concede These verbs mean to admit the reality or truth of something, often reluctantly. To acknowledge is to accept responsibility for something one makes known: He acknowledged his mistake. Admit implies reluctance in acknowledging one's acts or another point of view: “She was attracted by the frankness of a suitor who . . . admitted that he did not believe in marriage” (Edith Wharton, The Reckoning 1902.) Own stresses personal acceptance and responsibility: She owned that she feared for the child's safety. Avow means to assert openly and boldly: “Old Mrs. Webb avowed that he, in the space of two hours, had worn out her pew more . . . than she had by sitting in it forty years” (Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 1903.) Confess usually emphasizes disclosure of something damaging or inconvenient to oneself: I have to confess that I lied to you. To concede is to intellectually accept something, often against one's will: The lawyer refused to concede that the two cases had similarities.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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