ACKNOWLEDGE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Acknowledge

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/æknˈɑlɪdʒ/ /ɪknˈɑlɪdʒ/ Listen

verb

acknowledge v. t. (past & past part. acknowledged; pres. part. acknowledging)

1.

To own or admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in; as, to acknowledge the being of a God. "I acknowledge my transgressions." "For ends generally acknowledged to be good."

2.

To own or recognize in a particular character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to. "In all thy ways acknowledge Him." "By my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee."

3.

To own with gratitude or as a benefit or an obligation; as, to acknowledge a favor, the receipt of a letter. "They his gifts acknowledged none."

4.

To own as genuine; to assent to, as a legal instrument, to give it validity; to avow or admit in legal form; as, to acknowledge a deed.

Synonyms: To avow; proclaim; recognize; own; admit; allow; concede; confess. Acknowledge, Recognize. Acknowledge is opposed to keep back, or conceal, and supposes that something had been previously known to us (though perhaps not to others) which we now feel bound to lay open or make public. Thus, a man acknowledges a secret marriage; one who has done wrong acknowledges his fault; and author acknowledges his obligation to those who have aided him; we acknowledge our ignorance. Recognize supposes that we have either forgotten or not had the evidence of a thing distinctly before our minds, but that now we know it (as it were) anew, or receive and admit in on the ground of the evidence it brings. Thus, we recognize a friend after a long absence. We recognize facts, principles, truths, etc., when their evidence is brought up fresh to the mind; as, bad men usually recognize the providence of God in seasons of danger. A foreign minister, consul, or agent, of any kind, is recognized on the ground of his producing satisfactory credentials. See also Confess.

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Etymology of 'Acknowledge'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Acknowledge" Quotes from Famous Books

... it from side to side without any break. Through the crevices in the planks he caught a view of unhewn slabs and blocks of stone roughly cemented together, which passers-by might still have seen there ten years ago. He was forced to acknowledge with consternation that this apparent door was simply the wooden decoration of a building against which it was placed. It was easy to tear off a plank; but then, one found one's self face to face with ...

— Les Miserables - Complete in Five Volumes • Victor Hugo

... he presumes Mr Adams has communicated to Congress his Majesty's refusal to accede to the terms of the mediation of the Imperial Courts, until they should agree to acknowledge the American Plenipotentiaries in the manner most conformable to the dignity of the United States; and observes thereon, that if the King was so attentive to a matter of form, though it might indeed in our present situation be considered as important, he would ...

— The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. XI • Various

... Germain did not acknowledge that he had the bad taste to play billiards in a cafe,—a fact of which Butscha had taken advantage to surround him with friends of his own and manage him ...

— Modeste Mignon • Honore de Balzac

... yet surely it does sometimes exist in too many of us. In common speech, we talk of a person showing a hard temper, meaning, generally, a hard temper towards other men. We have done wrong, but being angry when we are reproved for it, we will not acknowledge it at all, and cheat our consciences, by dwelling upon the supposed wrong that has been done to us in some over-severity of reproof or punishment, instead of confessing and repenting of the original ...

— The Christian Life - Its Course, Its Hindrances, And Its Helps • Thomas Arnold

... think, ever since that first evening after the White Lady. At least, when I look back upon my feeling, I see that it was love from the beginning. After that day at Nuneham I knew that it was love; but I would not acknowledge it; I fought against it. It seemed to me that you would never forget that I had been harsh, that I had behaved rather like an enemy than a friend. But you did forget—you showed me how noble a woman could be, and every day after we parted in July I loved you more. I thought of you ...

— Miss Bretherton • Mrs. Humphry Ward

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