appreciation
Americannoun
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appreciations
plural
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gratitude; thankful recognition.
They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
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the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value.
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clear perception or recognition, especially of aesthetic quality.
a course in art appreciation.
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an increase or rise in the value of property, goods, etc.
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critical notice; evaluation; opinion, as of a situation, person, etc.
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a critique or written evaluation, especially when favorable.
noun
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thanks or gratitude
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assessment of the true worth or value of persons or things
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perceptive recognition of qualities, as in art
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an increase in value, as of goods or property
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a written review of a book, etc, esp when favourable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonappreciationnoun
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overappreciationnoun
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self-appreciationnoun
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superappreciationnoun
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unappreciationnoun
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appreciationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of appreciation
First recorded in 1600–10; earlier appretiation, from French appréciation, from Late Latin appretiātiō “appraisal, valuation”; equivalent to appreciate + -ion
Explanation
When you have an appreciation for something, you can see and truly understand its good qualities. One way to show your appreciation for a particularly wonderful musical performance is to give a standing ovation when it's over. A slightly different kind of appreciation is having good taste or the ability to see aesthetic beauty in something, like members of a wine appreciation group or the teacher of a music appreciation class. There's also the appreciation that means a rise in monetary value — you might refer to the appreciation of the value of a house, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing appreciation
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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May Vocabulary Words
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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’s brought to me a real appreciation of the deeper aesthetic,” Sawitskas says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Another arguably fusionist figure discussed in the book is Ronald Reagan, who combined libertarian leanings with genuine appreciation for freedom anchored in virtue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
By paying only $850,000 for your bond, the buyer would receive the 5.6% interest payments your bond pays plus $150,000 in appreciation when the bond matures at $1 million.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
I grew up with a level of appreciation for coffee that was just insane.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
“I wonder what kind of magic can do that,” Lady Meng said, looking up in appreciation.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
This intimate volume includes slices of memoir, critical essays and appreciations of other authors, among them Ross Macdonald, whose prose she finds “so elegant and rich as to drive any writer to fits of envy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Her death three decades later in 2023 triggered a flurry of posthumous appreciations that argued she was right all along.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2024
These are not mutually exclusive appreciations of this gown, but I brought to the discussion my research on abolitionist visual culture and read it through that lens.
From Slate ● May 4, 2023
It’s the usual way of appreciations to speak of somebody in the past tense.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 24, 2023
No, it doesn't turn my head; I can show you dozens of "appreciations" from greater and more famous men.
From The Letters of Ambrose Bierce With a Memoir by George Sterling by Ambrose Bierce
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
