acclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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acclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
acclaimed,
past participle, past
-
acclaiming
present participle
-
to welcome or salute with shouts or sounds of joy and approval; applaud.
to acclaim the conquering heroes.
-
to announce or proclaim with enthusiastic approval.
to acclaim the new king.
verb (used without object)
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acclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
acclaimed,
past participle, past
-
acclaiming
present participle
noun
verb
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(tr) to acknowledge publicly the excellence of (a person, act, etc)
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to salute with cheering, clapping, etc; applaud
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(tr) to acknowledge publicly that (a person) has (some position, quality, etc)
they acclaimed him king
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acclaimsimple
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acclaimssimple
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have acclaimedperfect
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has acclaimedperfect
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am acclaimingprogressive
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are acclaimingprogressive
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is acclaimingprogressive
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have been acclaimingperfect progressive
-
has been acclaimingperfect progressive
Past
-
acclaimedsimple
-
had acclaimedperfect
-
was acclaimingprogressive
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were acclaimingprogressive
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had been acclaimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of acclaim
From the Latin word acclāmāre, dating back to 1630–40. See ac-, claim
Explanation
You know you've hit it big when you earn acclaim, or enthusiastic approval. And when you have achieved "critical acclaim," even the grouchy critics approve of you. The word acclaim comes from the Latin word acclamare, which means to cry out. So it only makes sense that the verb acclaim means to offer enthusiastic praise or applause. "The book was critically acclaimed, but most of the students found it to be stupefyingly boring."
Vocabulary lists containing acclaim
Essential English Vocabulary, List 1
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The Unteachables
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The Crossover
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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:
It is that rare triumph in which popular acclaim and artistic worth completely agree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In fact, when the first book was published in 2019, it received critical acclaim, but Awad was disappointed it wasn’t selling as well as her previous novel, “13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The seven-episode drama was considered a front-runner in the category, earning 13 nominations as well as critical acclaim and impressive ratings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
However, his concert plans have not been met with universal acclaim.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The fourth and fifth were too small and the sixth brought acclaim from everyone, including Mother, who joined in the Gees, Goshes, and Look-at-thats!
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
When Mr. Marx acclaims “Old Town Road” as an “incredible homegrown feat,” he praises what he damns elsewhere as the second sickness of our age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
In a review headlined “Flaunting It,” New York Times book critic Christopher Lehmann-Haupt wrote, “George Lois may be nearly as great a genius of mass communication as he acclaims himself to be.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2022
There are countless ways to get B’s and C’s without building the “creativity, leadership and teamwork skills” that Mr. Grant rightly acclaims.
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2018
Each midwinter, with medals, scrolls, plaques, sonorous words and sometimes money, Science acclaims industrial and academic workers for outstanding achievement.
From Time Magazine Archive
When a cardinal acclaims a candidate orally after a deadlock, and the others follow suit, it is called election by quasi-inspiratio.
From The Saracen: The Holy War by Robert Shea
First staged in Seoul, this new version is adapted and directed by the Australian-born Simon Stone, whose acclaimed adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Yerma” was also seen at the Armory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
An acclaimed children’s musical about a shark who “wants to let out his inner fish” was out; Sylvester Stallone was in.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The acclaimed medical drama also has eight individual acting nominations, including one for its star, Noah Wyle.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Metzler went on to lead the critically acclaimed 2021 limited series “Maid” for Netflix, her first job as a showrunner, and signed an overall deal with the streamer in early 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
‘You have looked in that accursed stone of wizardry!’ acclaimed Gimli with fear and astonishment in his face.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
We're All Alone In This Together has been widely praised, with The Guardian acclaiming it as "an eerie, anguished triumph".
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2021
Pundits worldwide were united in acclaiming it as one of the best England performances of all time, if not the very best.
From Reuters ● Nov. 2, 2019
But that had not prevented others from acclaiming him as a hero.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2018
As the debate about our slatternly disposal of plastics was raging down on Earth we were all acclaiming a fresh addition to the garbage dump swirling above us in space.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2018
Crowds of royalists thronged the streets acclaiming the conquerors and shouting for Louis XVIII.
From The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Vol. IV. (of IV.) by William Milligan Sloane
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.
