acknowledgment
noun
Simple meaning
The act of recognizing in a particular character or relationship.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aknahlihjmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ækˈnɑlɪdʒmənt
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.
noun
A statement acknowledging something or someone
“She must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment.”
The act of acknowledging
The act of recognizing in a particular character or relationship; recognition of existence, authority, truth, or genuineness.
A reward or other expression or token of gratitude.
A message from the addressee informing the originator that the originator's communication has been received and understood.
An expression of gratitude for a benefit or an obligation.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A statement acknowledging something or someone
Both 'acknowledgement' and 'acknowledgment' mean the same thing and are used interchangeably. This spelling, without the extra 'e', is generally preferred in American English, making it slightly more common here than its alternative.
“She must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Formal letter
“Thank you for your prompt acknowledgment of my email.”
Book's front matter
“The author included a special acknowledgment to her family.”
Meeting minutes
“There was an acknowledgment that the project was behind schedule.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use acknowledgment
- “She must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: statement acknowledging something or someone
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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.