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:
You want to see the level of appreciation and adulation that the team gets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
"When I was doing analyses of the market in China there was not appreciation, more a sort of confusion," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
But if it makes sense for clients to make gifts to family members to get assets out of their estates and move future appreciation off their balance sheets, “sooner is probably better than later.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
"Our work emphasizes a new appreciation for how we think about blood pressure problems," Abbott said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
“I hope they don’t get in trouble with Suya for giving us these,” said Pinmei with appreciation.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
The report referenced “birthday celebrations, employee appreciations, baby showers, and flowers for a selective few, including executive leadership.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Throw in the sheer tonnage of think pieces and appreciations and other navel-gazing and you’d be forgiven for asking: Do we also need a book about Lorne Michaels?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2025
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
"One of the most delightful and eloquent appreciations of the ballad literature of Scotland that has ever seen the light."
From Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromartie, Knight by John Willcock
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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.
