recognize

[ rek-uhg-nahyz ]

/ ˈrɛk əgˌnaɪz /

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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR recognize

3 acknowledge, appreciate, understand, grant, concede.

Related forms

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for recognise

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
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

A gentleman seated on the roof appeared to recognise her—at least, he took his hat off as he passed.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 374, December, 1846|Various
A new sensation took possession of Marcantonio—an utterly new passion, which he did not recognise as part of himself.
To Leeward|F. Marion Crawford
The reader will recognise in this legend the hoary eastern material of many others current also in western lands.
Monumental Java|J. F. Scheltema
The man, whoever he was, had thought to recognise me, and he had not.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 4 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
This would be more unfortunate if we did not now recognise the necessity of getting without further delay to the coast.
A Pilgrimage to Nejd, Vol. 2 [of 2]|Anne Blunt

British Dictionary definitions for recognise

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 Formsrecognizable 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

Word Origin and History for recognise (1 of 2)

recognise

chiefly British English spelling of recognize; for spelling, see -ize. Related: Recognised; recognising; recognisance.

Word Origin and History for recognise (1 of 2)

recognize

early 15c., "resume possession of land," back-formation from recognizance, or else from Old French reconoiss-, stem of reconoistre "to know again, identify, recognize," from Latin recognoscere "acknowledge, recall to mind, know again; examine; certify," from re- "again" (see re-) + cognoscere "know" (see cognizance). Meaning "know again, recall or recover the knowledge of, perceive an identity with something formerly known or felt" first recorded 1530s. Related: Recognized; recognizing.