acknowledge
/əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.18 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in.
Transitive verb
verb
To own or recognize in a particular quality, character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "to acknowledge the being of a god"
- "I acknowledge my transgressions."
- "[T]he charge of my moſt curious, and coſtly ingredients fraide, amounting to ſome ſeaventeene thouſand crovvnes, a trifle in reſpect of health, vvriting your noble name in my Catalogue, I ſhall acknovvledge my ſelfe amply ſatisfi'd."
- "For ends generally acknowledged to be good."
- "[N]ow ſuch a liue vngodly, vvithout a care of doing the wil of the Lord (though they profeſſe him in their mouths, yea though they beleeue and acknowledge all the Articles of the Creed, yea haue knowledge of the Scripturs) yet if they liue vngodly, they deny God, and therefore ſhal be denied, […]"
- "Addison: Pathfinder, you're making a mistake. Ryder: Maybe. But at least I'm willing to acknowledge it."
Etymology
Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English aknowen (“to recognize, acknowledge”) and knowlechen (“to discover, reveal, acknowledge”). The former verb is from Old English oncnāwan, ācnāwan (“to know, recognize, acknowledge”), from on + cnāwan (“to know”). The latter is derived from the noun at hand in knowledge. For the formation compare Latin agnōscō and Russian призна́ть (priznátʹ), with cognate roots. The /k/-sound was preserved by being redistributed to the preceding syllable: /əˈkn-/ > /əkˈn-/. The -c- was inserted accordingly to reflect this pronunciation more clearly.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: aknowen, oncnāwan
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/
- British English: /əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/