acclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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acclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
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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:
The play, first produced to acclaim in London, takes place primarily in New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Turkish-made drones earned international acclaim after Ukraine used them to blow up columns of invading Russian military vehicles in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Scientists and ethicists say the paper may not have been seen as credible or earned its acclaim had the extent of BP’s involvement been fully disclosed.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
He immediately achieved commercial success by signing Barry Manilow; and critical acclaim for releasing Patti Smith's influential debut album, Horses.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Berkeley attracted the most promising young graduate students, hosted the most eminent visiting lecturers, pocketed the largest contributions from research foundations and garnered the lion’s share of public interest and acclaim.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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
But he, by farmstead, thorpe and spire, And follow'd with acclaims, A sign to many a staring shire Came crowing over Thames.
From Inns and Taverns of Old London by Henry C. (Henry Charles) Shelley
El Camino Real’s acclaimed softball program lost its coach, Jodie Borenstein, in 2024 after she resigned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The service benefits from Warner films, cartoons and HBO’s critically acclaimed original content including “Euphoria,” “Hacks,” “The Gilded Age” and “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which debuted earlier this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Thank U, Next and 7 Rings singer was billed to appear alongside her Wicked co-star, British actor Jonathan Bailey in the new production of Sondheim's critically acclaimed 1984 musical.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Crews started the gig when he was still starring as a flustered cop on the acclaimed sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
I ask Zuccarini if he ever recruits students from Truman’s acclaimed drama program, but he doesn’t know anything about it.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
The installations, unveiled last week, include an oversize rendering of Rome’s ubiquitous drinking fountains and a giant wooden doorstop, acclaiming Rome as an open city.
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 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
He confessed as much to the left-wing American writer Anna Louise Strong in 1958, when she was about to write a book acclaiming Mao's Great Leap Forward.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2013
He had celebrated Lampard's opener with gusto, enflaming the fans' ire in the process, but No 200 was a goal worth acclaiming.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 17, 2013
The idea that had come dangerously close to Aubrey's consciousness was the curious notion that people resented acclaiming anybody like themselves.
From Gargoyles by Ben Hecht
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.
