recognize

[ rek-uhg-nahyz ]

/ ˈrɛk əgˌnaɪz /

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See synonyms for: recognize / recognized / recognizes / recognizing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), rec·og·nized, rec·og·niz·ing.

to identify as something or someone previously seen, known, etc.: He had changed so much that one could scarcely recognize him.

to identify from knowledge of appearance or characteristics: I recognized him from the description. They recognized him as a fraud.

to perceive as existing or true; realize: to be the first to recognize a fact.

to acknowledge as the person entitled to speak at a particular time: The Speaker recognized the congressman from Maine.

to acknowledge formally as entitled to treatment as a political unit: The United States promptly recognized Israel.

to acknowledge or accept formally a specified factual or legal situation: to recognize a successful revolutionary regime as the de facto government of the country.

to acknowledge or treat as valid: to recognize a claim.

to acknowledge acquaintance with, as by a greeting, handshake, etc.

to show appreciation of (achievement, service, merit, etc.), as by some reward, public honor, or the like.

Law. to acknowledge (an illegitimate child) as one's own.

Biochemistry, Immunology. to bind with, cleave, or otherwise react to (another substance) as a result of fitting its molecular shape or a portion of its shape.

OTHER WORDS FOR recognize

3 acknowledge, appreciate, understand, grant, concede.

See synonyms for recognize on Thesaurus.com

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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

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True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Also especially British, rec·og·nise .

Origin of recognize

1425–75; recogn(ition) + -ize; replacing late Middle English racunnysen, recognisen<Old French reconuiss-, stem of reconuistre<Latin recognōscere, equivalent to re-re- + cognōscere to know¹; see cognition

OTHER WORDS FROM recognize

rec·og·niz·a·ble

[rek-uhg-nahy-zuh-buhl, rek-uhg-nahy-], /ˈrɛk əgˌnaɪ zə bəl, ˌrɛk əgˈnaɪ-/, adjectiverec·og·niz·a·bil·i·ty, nounrec·og·niz·a·bly, adverbrec·og·niz·er, noun

non·rec·og·nized, adjectivepre·rec·og·nize, verb (used with object), pre·rec·og·nized, pre·rec·og·niz·ing.qua·si-rec·og·nized, adjectiveun·rec·og·niz·a·ble, adjectiveun·rec·og·niz·a·bly, adverbun·rec·og·nized, adjectiveun·rec·og·niz·ing, adjectivewell-rec·og·nized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use recognize in a sentence

Indigenous people in North America have historically practiced prescribed burning, which is now more broadly recognized as an effective way to reduce the risk of uncontrolled fires.
What wildfires in Brazil, Siberia, and the US West have in common|Lili Pike|September 17, 2020|Vox
Relæ, for example, was recognized by both Michelin and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Christian Puglisi Is Closing His Influential Copenhagen Restaurants. COVID Is Only Partly to Blame|Rafael Tonon|September 17, 2020|Eater
People around the world are starting to recognize the important role of coastal wetlands in flood control.
Soggy coastal soils? Here’s why ecologists love them|Alison Pearce Stevens|September 17, 2020|Science News For Students
You just need a different archaeological approach to recognize them.
Archaeologists with drones discover pre-Columbian earthworks in Kansas|Kiona N. Smith|September 11, 2020|Ars Technica

It helps to analyze data in different contexts by recognizing different patterns in the data efficiently.
Transforming advertisement and graphic design through AI|Shree Das|September 8, 2020|Search Engine Watch
They recognise Christie as the only person who seems able to defeat Hillary Clinton in two years time.
Why 'Bridgegate' Will Make or Break Chris Christie|John Avlon|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tsundue is the creation of exile, of repression, of a hopelessness that no foreign power any longer has the courage to recognise.
Tibet’s Ticking Time Bomb|Kapil Komireddi|January 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
William has not launched legal action and appears to recognise he is powerless to stop the pictures appearing all over the world.
Royal Fury as Italian Magazine Publishes New Photos of Baby Bump Kate Middleton in a Bikini|Tom Sykes|February 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"I shook her hand but at that moment I didn't recognise her," said one.
Pippa Middleton Joins Big Fat Belgian Hunt|Tom Sykes|January 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
What you had to recognise was that you had a set of willing donors and a set of recipients.
Meet the Nobel* Winners in Economics|Justin Green|October 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Surely France must now recognise that he alone could save her; but the second restoration dashed his hopes to the ground.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
I am prepared to recognise the principle established by law—that there shall be equality in civil privileges.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
We readily recognise the fact that when a hammer falls often on an anvil it heats itself and the metal on which it strikes.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
But Maranham in its public acts took no notice whatever of the Prince, professing only to recognise the government of Lisbon.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
The air not only exists in the region where we distinctly recognise it; it also occupies the waters and the under earth.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for recognize

recognize

recognise

/ (ˈrɛkəɡˌnaɪz) /

verb (tr)

to perceive (a person, creature, or thing) to be the same as or belong to the same class as something previously seen or known; know again

to accept or be aware of (a fact, duty, problem, etc)to recognize necessity

to give formal acknowledgment of the status or legality of (a government, an accredited representative, etc)

mainly US and Canadian to grant (a person) the right to speak in a deliberative body, debate, etc

to give a token of thanks for (a service rendered, etc)

to make formal acknowledgment of (a claim, etc)

to show approval or appreciation of (something good or pleasing)

to acknowledge or greet (a person), as when meeting by chance

(intr) mainly US to enter into a recognizance

Derived forms of recognize

recognizable or recognisable, adjectiverecognizability or recognisability, nounrecognizably or recognisably, adverbrecognizer or recogniser, noun

Word Origin for recognize

C15: from Latin recognoscere to know again, from re- + cognoscere to know, ascertain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

recognize

OTHER WORDS FOR recognize

Origin of recognize

OTHER WORDS FROM recognize

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How to use recognize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for recognize

recognise

Derived forms of recognize

Word Origin for recognize