acclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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to welcome or salute with shouts or sounds of joy and approval; applaud.
to acclaim the conquering heroes.
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to announce or proclaim with enthusiastic approval.
to acclaim the new king.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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(tr) to acknowledge publicly the excellence of (a person, act, etc)
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to salute with cheering, clapping, etc; applaud
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(tr) to acknowledge publicly that (a person) has (some position, quality, etc)
they acclaimed him king
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acclaimsimple
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acclaimssimple
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have acclaimedperfect
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has acclaimedperfect
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am acclaimingprogressive
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are acclaimingprogressive
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is acclaimingprogressive
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have been acclaimingperfect progressive
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has been acclaimingperfect progressive
Past
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acclaimedsimple
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had acclaimedperfect
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was acclaimingprogressive
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were acclaimingprogressive
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had been acclaimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of acclaim
From the Latin word acclāmāre, dating back to 1630–40. See ac-, claim
Explanation
You know you've hit it big when you earn acclaim, or enthusiastic approval. And when you have achieved "critical acclaim," even the grouchy critics approve of you. The word acclaim comes from the Latin word acclamare, which means to cry out. So it only makes sense that the verb acclaim means to offer enthusiastic praise or applause. "The book was critically acclaimed, but most of the students found it to be stupefyingly boring."
Vocabulary lists containing acclaim
Essential English Vocabulary, List 1
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The Unteachables
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The Crossover
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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:
Their title bid last year garnered worldwide acclaim, but building on that benchmark is a tough ask.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Turkish-made drones earned international acclaim after Ukraine used them to blow up columns of invading Russian military vehicles in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Chef and co-owner Danny Castillo has earned national acclaim for his Texas-style smoked brisket, chickens, sausages and other meats informed by the ethnic backgrounds of his crew — white, Mexican, Argentine, Filipino and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Meanwhile, for all of the paper’s popular acclaim, many fellow scientists say “Wedges” missed its target.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
In the late 1990s, however, Cook County Hospital started a project that may one day earn the hospital as much acclaim as any of those earlier accomplishments.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
When Mr. Marx acclaims “Old Town Road” as an “incredible homegrown feat,” he praises what he damns elsewhere as the second sickness of our age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
In a review headlined “Flaunting It,” New York Times book critic Christopher Lehmann-Haupt wrote, “George Lois may be nearly as great a genius of mass communication as he acclaims himself to be.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2022
There are countless ways to get B’s and C’s without building the “creativity, leadership and teamwork skills” that Mr. Grant rightly acclaims.
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2018
Robert Ortner, chief economist for the Commerce Department, acclaims the present restructuring efforts of corporate America as "amazing."
From Time Magazine Archive
"But when it does," broke in de Marmont sombrely, "your Castlereagh will rave and your Wellington will gather up his armies to try and crush the hero whom France loves and acclaims."
From The Bronze Eagle A Story of the Hundred Days by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness
Last fall, the acclaimed director quoted Wilson’s translation when telling Empire magazine why he was drawn to the story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Munro was a writer acclaimed for her ability to turn ordinary life into storytelling art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Designed by acclaimed architecture firm Olson Kundig, the 2,900-square-foot residence features two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and a spacious terrace overlooking the Hollywood Hills.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
In “Daemons of the Shadow Realm,” based on the manga by acclaimed “Fullmetal Alchemist” creator Hiromu Arakawa, Huru leads a simple life in the premodern Edo-style Higashi Village.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Nearly a decade later, in December 1939, the acclaimed newspaper reporter Ernie Pyle stopped at La Tuna prison, near El Paso, Texas.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
We're All Alone In This Together has been widely praised, with The Guardian acclaiming it as "an eerie, anguished triumph".
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2021
The installations, unveiled last week, include an oversize rendering of Rome’s ubiquitous drinking fountains and a giant wooden doorstop, acclaiming Rome as an open city.
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2021
Pundits worldwide were united in acclaiming it as one of the best England performances of all time, if not the very best.
From Reuters ● Nov. 2, 2019
Even more enthusiastic was the Literary Review's Malcolm Forbes, acclaiming "a superb new novel" by "a writer of huge talent" who is "starting to resemble her literary idol, Chinua Achebe".
From The Guardian ● Apr. 13, 2013
CHEERING, the uttering or making of sounds encouraging, stimulating or exciting to action, indicating approval of acclaiming or welcoming persons, announcements of events and the like.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various
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.
