HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
tr.v. ac·knowl·edged, ac·knowl·edg·ing, ac·knowl·edg·es 1. To admit the existence or truth of: The doctors acknowledged that the treatment had not been successful. 2. a. To express recognition of; make notice of: "When he saw me acknowledge him, he smiled as if we were dear friends" (Angela Patrinos). b. To express gratitude or appreciation for or to: acknowledged the contributions of the volunteers; acknowledged her editor in the preface to the book. 3. To report the receipt of (something) to the sender or giver: acknowledge a letter. 4. Law To accept or certify as legally binding: acknowledge a deed of ownership. [Probably blend of Middle English knowlechen, to acknowledge (from knouen, to know; see KNOW) and Middle English aknouen, to recognize (from Old English oncnāwan, to know : on-, on; see ON + cnāwan, to know; see KNOW).] ac·knowledge·a·ble adj. Synonyms: acknowledge, admit, own, confess, concede These verbs express an acceptance of the reality or truth of something, especially something inconvenient, embarrassing, or detrimental to oneself. To acknowledge is to openly accept the truth of something that is usually already known or suspected: She acknowledged her mistake in a statement to the press. Admit can suggest the acknowledgment of behavior or intentions that one knows to be wrong, embarrassing, or unseemly: He admitted under questioning that he had falsified his résumé. Own or more commonly own up stresses acceptance of personal responsibility: "Recovering addicts ... say that when you are really in recovery, you want to own up to everything related to your drug use" (Michael Bamberger). Confess often suggests disclosure of something that one is uncomfortable keeping to oneself: I have to confess that I lied to you. To concede is to accept, often with reluctance or qualifications, what cannot reasonably be denied: "He conceded that he himself was not a great performer, but felt he had something that was even more important than acting ability" (Jeffrey Meyers). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
