recognition
Americannoun
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an act of recognizing or the state of being recognized.
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the identification of something as having been previously seen, heard, known, etc.
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the perception of something as existing or true; realization.
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the acknowledgment of something as valid or as entitled to consideration.
the recognition of a claim.
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the acknowledgment of achievement, service, merit, etc.
- Synonyms:
- acceptance, notice
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the expression of this in the form of some token of appreciation.
This promotion constitutes our recognition of her exceptional ability.
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formal acknowledgment conveying approval or sanction.
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acknowledgment of right to be heard or given attention.
The chairman refused recognition to any delegate until order could be restored.
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Psychology. the act or process of retrieving information previously encoded and stored in memory, when cued with the targeted information itself.
The paper studies the effect of storytelling on English learners’ recognition of vocabulary words.
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International Law. an official act by which one state acknowledges the existence of another state or government, or of belligerency or insurgency.
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the automated conversion of information, as words or images, into a form that can be processed by a machine, especially a computer or computerized device.
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Biochemistry. the responsiveness of one substance to another based on the reciprocal fit of a portion of their molecular shapes.
noun
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the act of recognizing or fact of being recognized
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acceptance or acknowledgment of a claim, duty, fact, truth, etc
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a token of thanks or acknowledgment
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formal acknowledgment of a government or of the independence of a country
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an instance of a chairman granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body, debate, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of recognition
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English recognicion, either from Old French or directly from Latin recognitiōn- (stem of recognitiō ), equivalent to recognit(us) (past participle of recognōscere; see recognize) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Recognition is when you remember something or someone you're familiar with — like the flash of recognition you experience at your high school reunion. Recognition isn't just about remembering what something looks like — it's also used to describe when you remember that someone has done something special, and decide to recognize their efforts with an award or speech. This type of recognition is a form of acknowledgment, a way to say "we approve" or "good work!"
Vocabulary lists containing recognition
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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In the Know: Cogn, Conn
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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.
Tree’s hit song “Life Goes On” and collaboration “Miss You” with German DJ Robin Schulz earned him international recognition and climbed onto the Billboard Hot 100.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
There is also recognition for industrial designer Ron Arad - who is made a CBE - and the fashion designer David Emanuel.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Abridge had previously trained its own speech recognition model because third-party models weren’t tuned for hospital settings and medical speech, Liang said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
“But we do welcome long-overdue federal recognition that the status quo is unacceptable,” Mitchell said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
But beneath this body-burden of racism, Ann discovered in C.P. something more profound: a recognition of our shared humanity.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
