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:
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch led the appreciation for the PM, and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey also had kind words for Starmer.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
If this trade is left unhedged, an investor who has sold yen can benefit from both dollar appreciation and gains on the underlying investments, such as U.S. tech stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
The poet and the critic share an appreciation for the beauty of the commonplace, an understanding of how the everyday can be extraordinary when captured in a certain way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
And he integrated those details into his infield mechanics, batting cage routine and appreciation for preparation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
A flicker of appreciation ignited across my chest, yet oddly the spark fizzled out.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
This intimate volume includes slices of memoir, critical essays and appreciations of other authors, among them Ross Macdonald, whose prose she finds “so elegant and rich as to drive any writer to fits of envy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 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
Stewart shunned all sendoffs and appreciations in his final season, something Harvick told the AP that Stewart now regrets.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
Hitherto, although many partial appreciations of the great man have been published in the Press or in small volumes, no complete and well-informed life of him has appeared.
From Verse and Worse by Graham, Harry
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.
