granted
IdiomsExplanation
If something is taken for granted, it's a given. You can count on it. In fact, you are already counting on it. Most Americans take for granted the right to vote. Granted as an adjective means "given," and it usually follows "take for" or "taken for." If you take someone for granted, you count on that person but you may not always show your appreciation. If someone accuses you for "taking them for granted," you should respond negatively and say something like: "Oh, no I don't. I thank my lucky stars for you every day!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The antidote psychologists prescribe is mental subtraction: deliberately imagining life without what you take for granted.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
She no longer believes in the promise, once taken for granted, that each generation will improve its lot over the last.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
He was accused of acting as frontman and money launderer for Maduro and his government, who in return granted him Venezuelan citizenship and a diplomatic passport.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
We take his timelessness for granted in the same way people think anybody can be a star in the Internet age.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
Taking nothing for granted was one of the keys to Fischer’s success.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
