recognize

[rek-uhg-nahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recognize 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.

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

Related formsrec·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, nounnon·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

Synonyms for recognize

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recognize ON THESAURUS.COM

3. acknowledge, appreciate, understand, grant, concede.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for recognize

notice, remember, admit, make, perceive, note, see, observe, know, grant, agree, appreciate, honor, allow, sanction, respect, realize, diagnose, remark, descry

Examples from the Web for recognize

Contemporary Examples of recognize

We have also seen countries like Sweden recognize Palestine as a state.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead
Dean Obeidallah
January 2, 2015
I recognize my inability to truly understand these events in the same context or view these events through exactly the same prism.
Dr. Howard Fuller's Injustice Education
Campbell Brown
December 21, 2014
The trick is to be able to recognize the right one when it comes along.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
After all, our bodies are hard wired to recognize the difference between “me” and “not me.”
Ferguson, Immigration, and ‘Us Vs. Them’
Gene Robinson
November 27, 2014
It only takes one glance of Alton's Ebola Survival Handbook to recognize the real threat: him.
The Sham, Scaremongering Guide to Ebola
Abby Haglage
November 20, 2014

Historical Examples of recognize

It does not matter whether we recognize a king or an emperor or a president as our ruler.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
The bill of fare contains nothing which they recognize as such.
The New Adam and Eve (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
And now, thought I, am I to be ordered down to recognize my own proposals.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
At times he seemed to recognize for a moment some of those with him.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
He supposed me to be some passing stranger, and did not recognize me.
Biography of a Slave
Charles Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for recognize

recognize

recognise

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 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.