appreciate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
appreciates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
appreciated,
past participle, past
-
appreciating
present participle
-
to be grateful or thankful for.
They appreciated his thoughtfulness.
-
to value or regard highly; place a high estimate on.
to appreciate good wine.
-
to be fully conscious of; be aware of; detect.
to appreciate the dangers of a situation.
-
to raise in value.
verb (used without object)
-
appreciates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
appreciated,
past participle, past
-
appreciating
present participle
verb
-
to feel thankful or grateful for
to appreciate a favour
-
(may take a clause as object) to take full or sufficient account of
to appreciate a problem
-
to value highly
to appreciate Shakespeare
-
(usually intr) to raise or increase in value
Usage
What are other ways to say appreciate? To appreciate something is to value or regard it highly. How is appreciate different from esteem, value, and prize? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
appreciatesimple
-
appreciatessimple
-
have appreciatedperfect
-
has appreciatedperfect
-
am appreciatingprogressive
-
are appreciatingprogressive
-
is appreciatingprogressive
-
have been appreciatingperfect progressive
-
has been appreciatingperfect progressive
Past
-
appreciatedsimple
-
had appreciatedperfect
-
was appreciatingprogressive
-
were appreciatingprogressive
-
had been appreciatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of appreciate
First recorded in 1645–55; from Medieval Latin appreciātus “valued, appraised,” from Late Latin appretiātus, past participle of appretiāre “to appraise” (equivalent to Latin ap- ap- 1 + preti(um) price + -ātus -ate 1 )
Explanation
If you appreciate something, you recognize its value. We can all appreciate how refreshing cold lemonade is on a sweltering summer day. The oldest meaning of appreciate is "to know the worth of something": "The parolee appreciated his newfound freedom." A related sense is "to be grateful for something," but this usage can sound wordy. Instead of "I would appreciate your sending me more information," consider: "Please send me more information." The word can also be used (without a direct object) to mean "to rise in worth": "The vintage Corvette would appreciate in value over the years."
Vocabulary lists containing appreciate
List 4
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"Icarus's Flight," Vocabulary from the poem
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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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:
"I can understand entirely why they did that, but they did not seem to appreciate that uploading and manipulating images of children in this way can carry real privacy and safeguarding risks."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
His films will one day too become flowers left not only as proof of his time on earth, but perhaps as messages for those to come who have the sensibility to appreciate them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
But for viewers who might find Ted Lasso a little advanced, Haaland was easy to appreciate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Mungiu worried the new generation may not fully appreciate the country’s terrible history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
I really do appreciate you and I actually like living here.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
"The 501st Combat Support Wing appreciates the swift response and continued support of our local law enforcement partners," it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
“My guess is where that leads is just a lower gradient of returns from here, i.e., as earnings growth slows, the extent to which the market appreciates slows, but on net still positive,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Richoux, who lives in Picayune, Miss., appreciates that DTC brands have made the delicacy more readily available.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
She appreciates that some people might be sceptical about the difference breathing techniques actually make to stressful situations but urges people to try them.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
It never seems to, bother him when no one else appreciates his jokes.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Many appreciated that she could relate to the challenges they faced as renters.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Robinson told BBC Sport that the scale of Kane's greatness may only be fully appreciated in years to come.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
But the process of interviewing advisers and eventually hiring one taught me things about financial advice that I hadn’t appreciated from years of writing and editing stories about it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Hilton appreciated Papi’s pluck and his life story as the proud father of four college-educated children — none of whom plan to vote for Hilton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
It was times like these that he appreciated how gracious she could be.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
For example, how much more yield would people then demand for owning bonds when appreciating assets like stocks are shielded?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The tell-like-it-is prose of Swanson is refreshing and appreciating to read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
She said the scale, height, and mass of the new ballroom would impair her aesthetic, cultural, and historical interests in viewing and appreciating the White House.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
“If they want to get ahead, invest in an appreciating asset, and the best one is themselves — their career, training, skill set, connections and ability to be flexible.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Real estate advertisements were full of testimonials to its location and appreciating values.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
