recognize
- 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.
Origin of recognize
Synonyms for recognize
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for recognizes
notice, remember, admit, make, perceive, note, see, observe, know, grant, agree, appreciate, honor, allow, sanction, respect, realize, diagnose, remark, descryExamples from the Web for recognizes
Contemporary Examples of recognizes
Scotland Yard released a video of the extraordinary crime in an appeal for anyone who recognizes the man to come forward.
But she also recognizes that it places women who are told that they screened for HPV in a frustrating limbo.
Dr. Drape recognizes that she will always have to manage her scoliosis.
He notes that “at least one paper” recognizes that the cause of the tail is “poorly understood.”
At the same time, she recognizes that he is loving and protective of Sansa as well.
Game of Thrones’ Sibel Kekilli Discusses Shae’s Treachery at the Trial of Tyrion LannisterMarlow Stern
May 13, 2014
Historical Examples of recognizes
There, indeed, is something which the soul within him recognizes.
The New Adam and Eve (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
Already the business of the century recognizes the truth of all this.
The Call of the Twentieth CenturyDavid Starr Jordan
But if there be help for him, it must be a help that recognizes the highest in him, and urges him to its use.
A Dish Of OrtsGeorge MacDonald
At best, he recognizes the past, with here and there a slight variation.
Blood and IronJohn Hubert Greusel
Plato only recognizes the identity of pleasure and good when the pleasure is of the higher kind.
LawsPlato
recognize
recognise
- 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
Word Origin for recognize
Word Origin and History for recognizes
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.