recognition

[rek-uhg-nish-uhn]

noun

1. an act of recognizing or the state of being recognized.

2. the identification of something as having been previously seen, heard, known, etc.

3. the perception of something as existing or true; realization.

4. the acknowledgment of something as valid or as entitled to consideration.

   the recognition of a claim.

5. the acknowledgment of achievement, service, merit, etc.

   Synonyms: acceptance, notice

6. the expression of this in the form of some token of appreciation.

   This promotion constitutes our recognition of her exceptional ability.

7. formal acknowledgment conveying approval or sanction.

8. acknowledgment of right to be heard or given attention.

   The chairman refused recognition to any delegate until order could be restored.

9. Psychology.,  the act or process of retrieving information previously encoded and stored in memory, when cued with the targeted information itself.

   The paper studies the effect of storytelling on English learners’ recognition of vocabulary words.

10. International Law.,  an official act by which one state acknowledges the existence of another state or government, or of belligerency or insurgency.

11. the automated conversion of information, as words or images, into a form that can be processed by a machine, especially a computer or computerized device.

12. Biochemistry.,  the responsiveness of one substance to another based on the reciprocal fit of a portion of their molecular shapes.

recognition

/ ˌrɛkəɡˈnɪʃən, rɪˈkɒɡnɪtɪv /

noun

1. the act of recognizing or fact of being recognized

2. acceptance or acknowledgment of a claim, duty, fact, truth, etc

3. a token of thanks or acknowledgment

4. formal acknowledgment of a government or of the independence of a country

5. an instance of a chairman granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body, debate, etc

recognition

1. In diplomacy, the act by which one nation acknowledges that a foreign government is a legitimate government and exchanges diplomats with it. The withholding of recognition is a way for one government to show its disapproval of another.

Other Word Forms

• recognitional adjective
• recognitive adjective
• recognitory adjective
• prerecognition noun
• unrecognitory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of recognition¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English recognicion, either from Old French or directly from Latin recognitiōn- (stem of recognitiō ), equivalent to recognit(us) (past participle of recognōscere; recognize ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of recognition¹

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

Example Sentences

The recognition of a sculpture surreptitiously flipping the bird certainly produces a smile.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It is a recognition that the current system has led to an ever-spinning hamster wheel of tax rise speculation.

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Struggling to gain recognition, he returned to Jamaica in 1969 to play with local musicians.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It was conceived in recognition of the veterans' issue, which has re-surfaced on the green benches as the new bill begins its passage.

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The frustration comes not from losing to an excellent Argentina side, but from seeing a team performing incredibly well – as Scotland did to carve out that 21-0 lead – only to nosedive beyond recognition.

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Related Words

• acceptance 
• admission 
• appreciation 
• awareness 
• concession 
• perception 
• realization 
• respect 
• understanding