acclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
-
acclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
acclaimed,
past participle, past
-
acclaiming
present participle
noun
verb
-
(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
-
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:
As a novelist, Gardam won special acclaim for her Old Filth trilogy, published between 2004 and 2013, about an elderly English barrister and judge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
But Bill Pay was clearly not aiming for highbrow acclaim in the way Barbie aimed for the Oscars.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
Just a year later, the Thomas Tunnock lifeboat, named in honour of the businessman's late brother and grandfather, was launched to great acclaim.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
In 1995, Martha and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the second all-female group to land the acclaim.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Speaking out more boldly than he had during the entire strike, he made a statement that would bring him national attention and acclaim.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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 Science acclaims outstanding workers in schools, factories and offices by means of medals, prizes, publicity.
From Time Magazine Archive
From all the North ready acclaims went up, and women shed tears of joy, such as in King Arthur's day rewarded some peerless deed of Galahad.
From Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War by Richard Taylor
“The Sopranos” star and his wife, Maureen Van Zandt—who also played his on-screen spouse in the iconic HBO show—snapped up the home in 2008, about a year after the finale of the critically acclaimed series.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
“Marrow Deep,” the band’s ninth studio album, reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart, and has been widely acclaimed critically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
It marks Rock’s follow-up to Top Five, his critically acclaimed 2014 rom-com.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Netflix’s Cathy-centered take on “East of Eden” comes before us at a very different time than the one in which Zoe Kazan’s grandfather Elia introduced his acclaimed 1955 film.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
“And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!”
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Harold’s knights pivot from acclaiming him with open palms and loyal smiles to pointing fearfully at the heavens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
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
It was the people returning from the races, acclaiming the victor.
From Sónnica by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
