appreciation
Americannoun
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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:
He and other market organizers passed out refreshments to the vendors — tokens of appreciation for coming back outside amid continuing uncertainty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Prasetyo said the president had extended his thanks to Perry "and the highest appreciation for his dedication over approximately seven years leading Bank Indonesia".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The MAS very slightly increased the rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange-rate policy band while leaving its other parameters unchanged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
But there was still a mutual show of love as Fleetwood walked down the 18th fairway, lapping up a rapturous reception and showing his appreciation by thumping his heart.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Kara wasn’t Muslim or a woman of color, yet she still felt an appreciation for my personal experiences, though our lives were seemingly worlds apart.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
He wrote introductions and appreciations, edited anthologies and reissues, taught in writing programs, recommended candidates for artist residencies, advised the Guggenheim Foundation on fellowship recipients and informally brokered the advancement of innumerable authors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Margaret Atwood unpacks the essays, speeches and appreciations in her deep and deeply entertaining new nonfiction collection, ‘Burning Question.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 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
Long after the cheering deputies had said their good-bys to General Pershing, the French writers, made articulate by the example of Ribot and Viviani, were busily preparing appreciations and commentaries of the Pershing arrival.
From Our Army at the Front by Broun, Heywood
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.
