acclaim
verb
Simple meaning
To express great approval.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhklaymSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əkˈleɪm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To express great approval (for).
Praise vociferously
transitive
To declare by acclamations.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To express great approval (for).
To 'acclaim' means to praise someone or something enthusiastically and publicly. It's a stronger, more formal word than 'praise' or 'applaud,' often implying widespread recognition and respect for achievement. Think of it as receiving high honors.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Reviews (movies, books)
“Critics widely acclaim the director's newest film.”
Award ceremonies
“The audience rose to acclaim the lifetime achievement winner.”
Art exhibitions
“Attendees acclaimed the artist's innovative sculptures.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “acclaim” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.