recognize

[ rek-uhg-nahyz ]

/ ˈrɛk əgˌnaɪz /

Save This Word!

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.

SYNONYMS FOR recognize

3 acknowledge, appreciate, understand, grant, concede.

See synonyms for recognize on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 12

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

Words nearby recognize

recluse, reclusion, recognition, recognition factor, recognizance, recognize, recognizee, recognizor, recoil, recoil escapement, recoilless

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for recognize

To me, the broader lesson from that is recognizing what the issue is.
Eight case studies on regulating biometric technology show us a path forward|Karen Hao|September 4, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Maybe by the next election, computers will be better at recognizing the handiwork of other automated manipulators.
Microsoft’s new video authenticator could help weed out dangerous deepfakes|Stan Horaczek|September 3, 2020|Popular Science
The names mentioned above are just a smattering of the people recognized on the list.
Fortune’s 40 Under 40 honorees in tech defy the pandemic|rhhackettfortune|September 2, 2020|Fortune
“The only way to safeguard the sector is for the government to step in and recognize that fashion and its supply chain is a truly strategic industry for the country, something Italy excels at globally,” he says.
Can Italy’s Fashion Artisans Survive COVID?|Charu Kasturi|August 30, 2020|Ozy

We as a community need to recognize their power and strength so we have to affirm our family.
LGBTQ activists participate in March on Washington commemoration|Steph Purifoy|August 29, 2020|Washington Blade
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|DAILY BEAST
But few of us would recognize the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand, a German philosopher-turned-outspoken Nazi antagonist.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler|John Henry Crosby|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
I assure you, no matter how beautifully we play any piece, the minute Liszt plays it, you would scarcely recognize it!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
I hope the French Government will recognize this dashing stroke of d'Amade's by something more solid than a thank you.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
He spoke Urdu exceedingly well, and it was difficult in the gloom to recognize him as a European.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
In estivo-autumnal malaria the gametes take distinctive ovoid and crescentic forms, and are not difficult to recognize.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The narrow individualism of the nineteenth century refused to recognize the social duty of supporting somebody else's grandmother.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock

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

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

recognize

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

SYNONYMS FOR recognize