acknowledge
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to admit to be real or true; recognize the existence, truth, or fact of.
to acknowledge one's mistakes.
-
to show or express recognition or realization of.
to acknowledge an acquaintance by nodding.
-
to recognize the authority, validity, or claims of.
The students acknowledged the authority of the student council.
-
to show or express appreciation or gratitude for.
to acknowledge a favor.
-
to indicate or make known the receipt of.
to acknowledge a letter.
-
to take notice of or reply to.
to acknowledge a greeting.
-
Law. to confirm as binding or of legal force.
to acknowledge a deed.
verb
-
(may take a clause as object) to recognize or admit the existence, truth, or reality of
-
to indicate recognition or awareness of, as by a greeting, glance, etc
-
to express appreciation or thanks for
to acknowledge a gift
-
to make the receipt of known to the sender
to acknowledge a letter
-
to recognize, esp in legal form, the authority, rights, or claims of
Synonym Usage
Acknowledge, admit, confess agree in the idea of declaring something to be true. Acknowledge implies making a statement reluctantly, often about something previously denied: to acknowledge a fault. Admit especially implies acknowledging something under pressure: to admit a charge. Confess usually means stating somewhat formally an admission of wrongdoing, crime, or shortcoming: to confess guilt; to confess an inability to understand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
acknowledgernoun
-
preacknowledgeverb (used with object)
-
reacknowledgeverb (used with object)
-
acknowledgeableadjective
-
unacknowledgingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
acknowledgesimple
-
acknowledgessimple
-
have acknowledgedperfect
-
has acknowledgedperfect
-
am acknowledgingprogressive
-
are acknowledgingprogressive
-
is acknowledgingprogressive
-
have been acknowledgingperfect progressive
-
has been acknowledgingperfect progressive
Past
-
acknowledgedsimple
-
had acknowledgedperfect
-
was acknowledgingprogressive
-
were acknowledgingprogressive
-
had been acknowledgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of acknowledge
First recorded in 1475–85; late Middle English acknowleche, apparently either Middle English aknou(en) “to recognize” + -leche, noun suffix, variant of -lac; or a blend of aknouen and knouleche knowledge; then a- was mistaken for ac-
Explanation
To show that you know something is to acknowledge it. Waving "hello" to acknowledge a friend and nodding your head "yes" to acknowledge that you agree with what's being said are both acts showing knowledge or acceptance of someone or something. Dictionaries acknowledge that the word acknowledge has roots in the 15th and 16th centuries and is a combination of roots meaning "accord," "recognize," and "understand." Whereas "knowledge" is what you know, acknowledging is showing that you know. You might acknowledge that the world is round and that the moon is not made of cheese. You also can acknowledge, or give recognition, to the people who discovered these truths.
Vocabulary lists containing acknowledge
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Common Core Grades 7–8, List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Nothing But the Truth
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
I said something like: “Please don’t go home. Your child needs oxygen. She has pneumonia. We will figure out a way to pay for this, because we acknowledge what we do is expensive.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Privately, plenty of Conservative and Reform folk acknowledge they are not ready yet.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
At this point it’s worth stepping back to acknowledge the strangeness of all this.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
“That piece is labor-intensive, let me acknowledge that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
We use the word ‘Epicurean’ to mean someone who seeks physical pleasure but, in the Renaissance, Epicureans were materialists and atheists and consequently unable to acknowledge any good other than physical pleasure.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
But, as she later acknowledges, “women have always scared me more than men, because the pain they’ve caused me always goes so much deeper, and because I take them so much more seriously.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The criticism surrounding Fire Point has had at least one tangible consequence, she acknowledges: some projects with foreign partners were delayed for several months for additional compliance procedures.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Andrew Wheelhouse, for NGN, responded: "The defendant acknowledges that the article should never have been published and has undertaken never to repeat the allegations."
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
He acknowledges it has received insurance industry sponsorships in the past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
There are tears on my face, but neither of us mentions or even acknowledges them.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
The staff acknowledged that patients who received and benefited from RP1 lived a median of 30.6 months without cancer progressing, versus 4.4 months on their prior immunotherapy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“We don’t really see many well dogs,” the London native acknowledged during a visit last year when he found Cosmo was in the early stages of kidney disease.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
He acknowledged that the program “plays an invaluable role in the lives of many disabled New Yorkers” but agreed with the Justice Department that “it has also fallen prey to widespread waste, abuse and fraud.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Ms. Bass at least acknowledged last week that her city’s homeless agency is “a broken system.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Justice Thurgood Marshall acknowledged as much in his dissent in Bostick, noting “the basis of the decision to single out particular passengers during a suspicionless sweep is less likely to be inarticulable than unspeakable.”
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns Monticello and runs its public educational programs, gradually came around to acknowledging the full subjecthood of Sally Hemings, to the chagrin of some visitors.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Despite acknowledging subtle differences with Lindsey—“I have my own way of doing things,” she wrote in a note to constituents last week—she has emphasized that they shared the “same values.”
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
While acknowledging the oil crisis of 1973, and the fact unions were more powerful then, he said inflation didn’t stop accelerating.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
A Premier League scouting report from that game suggests the midfielder's talent was quickly apparent, acknowledging his "great athleticism, long legs, graceful running and work-rate".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
When Roosevelt and the others passed the graves marked with wooden crosses, they raised their hats, acknowledging Rondon’s workers who had died.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
