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accepting

[ak-sep-ting]
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adjective
  1. amenable; open: She was always more accepting of coaching suggestions than her teammates.
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Origin of accepting

First recorded in 1570–80; accept + -ing2
Related formsac·cept·ing·ly, adverbac·cept·ing·ness, noun

accept

[ak-sept]
verb (used with object)
  1. to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor: to accept a present; to accept a proposal.
  2. to agree or consent to; accede to: to accept a treaty; to accept an apology.
  3. to respond or answer affirmatively to: to accept an invitation.
  4. to undertake the responsibility, duties, honors, etc., of: to accept the office of president.
  5. to receive or admit formally, as to a college or club.
  6. to accommodate or reconcile oneself to: to accept the situation.
  7. to regard as true or sound; believe: to accept a claim; to accept Catholicism.
  8. to regard as normal, suitable, or usual.
  9. to receive as to meaning; understand.
  10. Commerce. to acknowledge, by signature, as calling for payment, and thus to agree to pay, as a draft.
  11. (in a deliberative body) to receive as an adequate performance of the duty with which an officer or a committee has been charged; receive for further action: The report of the committee was accepted.
  12. to receive or contain (something attached, inserted, etc.): This socket won't accept a three-pronged plug.
  13. to receive (a transplanted organ or tissue) without adverse reaction.Compare reject(def 7).
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verb (used without object)
  1. to accept an invitation, gift, position, etc. (sometimes followed by of).
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Origin of accept

1350–1400; Middle English accepten < Middle French accepter < Latin acceptare, equivalent to ac- ac- + -cep- take, combining form of cap- + -t- frequentative suffix
Related formspre·ac·cept, verbre·ac·cept, verb (used with object)
Can be confusedaccept except (see usage note at the current entry)

Synonyms

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2. concede. 7. acknowledge.

Antonyms

1. reject.

Usage note

The verbs accept and except are sometimes confused because of their similar pronunciations, especially in rapid speech. Accept means “to take or receive” ( I accept this trophy ), while except means “to exclude” ( Certain types of damage are excepted from coverage in this insurance policy ).
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

welcomeobtaintakegetreceiveadmittrustaffirmrecognizeacknowledgefavorbuyholdapprovetoleraterespectagreeassumeadoptsign

Examples from the Web for accepting

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • You Westerners have another way, of accepting people too readily.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • "Not at all," persisted he, accepting as conversation what she meant as a stab.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • She refused; she would not give herself the pleasure of accepting.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • She made a feint of accepting the herb, and then pointed to him and to the road.

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • You see the expediency, the necessity of my accepting this embassy.

British Dictionary definitions for accepting

accept

verb (mainly tr)
  1. to take or receive (something offered)
  2. to give an affirmative reply toto accept an invitation
  3. to take on the responsibilities, duties, etc, ofhe accepted office
  4. to tolerate or accommodate oneself to
  5. to consider as true or believe in (a philosophy, theory, etc)I cannot accept your argument
  6. (may take a clause as object) to be willing to grant or believeyou must accept that he lied
  7. to receive with approval or admit, as into a community, group, etc
  8. commerce to agree to pay (a bill, draft, shipping document, etc), esp by signing
  9. to receive as adequate, satisfactory, or valid
  10. to receive, take, or hold (something applied, inserted, etc)
  11. (intr sometimes foll by of) archaic to take or receive an offer, invitation, etc
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Derived Formsaccepter, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin acceptāre, from ad- to + capere to take
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for accepting

accept

v.

late 14c., "to take what is offered," from Old French accepter (14c.) or directly from Latin acceptare "take or receive willingly," frequentative of accipere "receive," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + capere "to take" (see capable). Related: Accepted; accepting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper