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
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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:
"We didn't appreciate that it would lead to companies growing so fast, and how quickly they would become central to things," Amodei said.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Consumers appreciate the story behind a lot of these pieces.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
If you appreciate Rhea Seehorn’s complex, subtle acting, her dynamic range and her deadpan humor, then you’ve probably found the Emmys to be maddening over the years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Thoughtful knickknacks are something that people of any social status can appreciate, Bensimon added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Sometimes in life it takes a heaping plateful of Bad to help us appreciate the mouthwatering deliciousness of Good when we finally taste it.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
As a CEO and now the parent of two young children, Braus appreciates the predictability of what’s largely a Monday-to-Friday desk job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The franc’s status as a safe-haven currency means it appreciates at times of geopolitical turmoil, which pushes down the price of imported products and services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He acknowledges that there are some well-established societal downsides to overuse of Meta’s social-media, especially among young people, but he appreciates “at least there’s no cloud in their revenue.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
He appreciates the scope of projects he’s done so far, from the massive scale of production on “House of the Dragon” to smaller art house films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Because when a teacher appreciates you, you think, / am something!
From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai
I told him I appreciated his interest in me and that I would think about it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Since publishing, we’ve heard from many who appreciated how we handled such a sensitive topic, including several Epstein survivors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Reflecting on the show's longevity, Beck said he thought audiences enjoyed Casualty as they appreciated the NHS.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
In a letter read to the court after the verdict was announced, Gia told the jurors she deeply appreciated the justice they helped her family achieve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
He had his job, driving a pickup and delivery truck for a false-animal repair firm; the Van Ness Pet Hospital and his gloomy, gothic boss Hannibal Sloat accepted him as human and this he appreciated.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Investors can also use that war chest to rebalance, selling stable or appreciating bondholdings to buy stocks if they are trading at a discount.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 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
A memory play of quiet complexity, “We Had a World” is a moving meditation on the challenge of appreciating our imperfect yet irreplaceable loved ones in the time that’s available.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Jonathan and Drew Scott have since featured Walk Your Plans on several episodes of their various shows, appreciating the way viewers, as well as clients, get a better idea of what they’re actually building.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
And I used my mom as an excuse, accusing her of not appreciating or accepting me, when I should have been saying those words into a mirror.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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.
