acknowledge
Americanverb (used with object)
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acknowledges,
present (3rd person singular)
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acknowledged,
past participle, past
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acknowledging
present participle
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to admit to be real or true; recognize the existence, truth, or fact of.
to acknowledge one's mistakes.
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to show or express recognition or realization of.
to acknowledge an acquaintance by nodding.
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to recognize the authority, validity, or claims of.
The students acknowledged the authority of the student council.
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to show or express appreciation or gratitude for.
to acknowledge a favor.
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to indicate or make known the receipt of.
to acknowledge a letter.
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to take notice of or reply to.
to acknowledge a greeting.
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Law. to confirm as binding or of legal force.
to acknowledge a deed.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to recognize or admit the existence, truth, or reality of
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to indicate recognition or awareness of, as by a greeting, glance, etc
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to express appreciation or thanks for
to acknowledge a gift
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to make the receipt of known to the sender
to acknowledge a letter
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to recognize, esp in legal form, the authority, rights, or claims of
Synonym Usage
Acknowledge, admit, confess agree in the idea of declaring something to be true. Acknowledge implies making a statement reluctantly, often about something previously denied: to acknowledge a fault. Admit especially implies acknowledging something under pressure: to admit a charge. Confess usually means stating somewhat formally an admission of wrongdoing, crime, or shortcoming: to confess guilt; to confess an inability to understand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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acknowledgernoun
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preacknowledgeverb (used with object)
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reacknowledgeverb (used with object)
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acknowledgeableadjective
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unacknowledgingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acknowledgesimple
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acknowledgessimple
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have acknowledgedperfect
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has acknowledgedperfect
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am acknowledgingprogressive
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are acknowledgingprogressive
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is acknowledgingprogressive
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have been acknowledgingperfect progressive
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has been acknowledgingperfect progressive
Past
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acknowledgedsimple
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had acknowledgedperfect
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was acknowledgingprogressive
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were acknowledgingprogressive
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had been acknowledgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of acknowledge
First recorded in 1475–85; late Middle English acknowleche, apparently either Middle English aknou(en) “to recognize” + -leche, noun suffix, variant of -lac; or a blend of aknouen and knouleche knowledge; then a- was mistaken for ac-
Explanation
To show that you know something is to acknowledge it. Waving "hello" to acknowledge a friend and nodding your head "yes" to acknowledge that you agree with what's being said are both acts showing knowledge or acceptance of someone or something. Dictionaries acknowledge that the word acknowledge has roots in the 15th and 16th centuries and is a combination of roots meaning "accord," "recognize," and "understand." Whereas "knowledge" is what you know, acknowledging is showing that you know. You might acknowledge that the world is round and that the moon is not made of cheese. You also can acknowledge, or give recognition, to the people who discovered these truths.
Vocabulary lists containing acknowledge
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 1
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Nothing But the Truth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But when the government’s arguments are this lazy, it is functionally impossible for Saylor to not at least implicitly acknowledge just how bad the idea is.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Social isolation and loneliness - the sad thing is in rural communities, people don't always like to talk about that and acknowledge that," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
These scholars acknowledge that China would eventually have made its economic mark regardless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“We do acknowledge that it’s a tragic event. We don’t fully go into it. Since we weren’t really taught about it, we don’t have a lot of context on it,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
But of course he was right, and by the time I came to womanhood even I had to acknowledge that his prestige was much diminished.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
And Meta acknowledges that there will be glitches: When users register for Muse, a warning pops up saying the agent “may make mistakes or take unexpected actions, so review its work.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
It’s as if the world tacitly acknowledges that getting this tale truly right is a futile pursuit.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
While this will likely be upgraded at some point, Cryer, a veteran of the mining industry, acknowledges that predicting the long-run price of copper is far from straightforward.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
"We are still a bit of a pirate ship," a senior Reform figure acknowledges privately.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
They’re mostly white except for Esther Song, the only other Korean girl at our school, who never acknowledges my existence.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Hearn acknowledged that virtually every other party involved preferred New York, with Matchroom even exploring what compensation would be required to waive the UK clause.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
But Jack Brody, Suno’s chief product officer, acknowledged that labels “ultimately have their contracts in place that will have some say in what an artist can and can’t do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
As OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta all acknowledged this summer that their models had hacked outside companies, it raised an obvious question: Where’s Google?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: "Sarah has been honest about her political journey and has acknowledged that her views have changed since she first entered politics."
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
As his car pulled through the gate, the president acknowledged the women by tipping his hat in their direction, but he did not smile.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Officials said the U.S. military has deployed weapons in space, acknowledging for the first time a closely held government secret.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday said "no stone will be left unturned" to solve the killings, acknowledging "these incidents are causing fear and uncertainty in our communities, and especially among women".
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
On Wednesday, Luxon also apologised to the children's mother, acknowledging that they were "let down through this process that spent four years in the bush".
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
The CQC has released a statement acknowledging it was not investigative or inquiring enough in 2016, but said it had since strengthened its approach.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Now, perhaps sanctioned by a karmic wave of “in due time,” America is acknowledging Malcolm yet again.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
