acclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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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:
Barr revises the work, altering identifying details, and publishes it to acclaim as a novel of his own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 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 fact, when the first book was published in 2019, it received critical acclaim, but Awad was disappointed it wasn’t selling as well as her previous novel, “13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
A Trip to the Moon, Melies’ most famous film, followed a group of explorers as they went to the moon, fought the moon men, and returned home with a captive, to great acclaim.
From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
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
For a memory recalling the rapture of earth, and redeeming the sky, Shines down from the heights to the depths: will the watchword of dawn be July When to-morrow acclaims November?
From Astrophel and Other Poems Taken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon Charles Swinburne, Vol. VI by Algernon Charles Swinburne
“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
It went to on to win a record-breaking six Brit Awards, including album of the year, and was nominated for the acclaimed Mercury Prize.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 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
Their record includes critically acclaimed movies but several box-office disappointments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Keegan is among the most esteemed military historians who ever lived, and A History of Warfare was a critically acclaimed bestseller.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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
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
As the debate about our slatternly disposal of plastics was raging down on Earth we were all acclaiming a fresh addition to the garbage dump swirling above us in space.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2018
He had rushed to the Cæsar trying to protect him, when thousands on thousands of throats were acclaiming his name as future lord of Rome.
From "Unto Caesar" by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy
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