acclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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to welcome or salute with shouts or sounds of joy and approval; applaud.
to acclaim the conquering heroes.
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to announce or proclaim with enthusiastic approval.
to acclaim the new king.
verb (used without object)
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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are acclaimingprogressive
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am acclaimingprogressive
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is acclaimingprogressive
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have been acclaimingperfect progressive
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has been acclaimingperfect progressive
Past
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acclaimedsimple
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had acclaimedperfect
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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.
But there was a question mark hovering over his new material, which has not been met with the sort of universal acclaim the 33-year-old has come to expect.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
He and Erkılıç have achieved international acclaim for their team’s decades of foundational experimentation collaborating with dataset intelligences at the AI frontier, as well as for architecturally-scaled, narratively engaged visual embodiments of abstract technological constructs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Left, the founder of Citron Research, won acclaim on Wall Street after calling out problems at China Evergrande in 2012 and Valeant Pharmaceuticals in 2015.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
It was there that Hassabis co-designed “Theme Park,” a landmark game with bleeding-edge algorithmic capabilities that earned both critical acclaim and millions of sales.
From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026
Yet it was only after she toured Europe to great acclaim in the early 1930s that her artistry was recognized in her own homeland.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
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.
