appreciate
verb
Simple meaning
To be thankful for something, or to understand how good or important it is.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhpreesheeaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əpˈɹiʃieɪt
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
Be fully aware of; realize fully
“Do you appreciate the full meaning of this letter?”
transitive
To be fully conscious of; understand; be aware of; detect.
transitive
To be grateful or thankful for.
transitive
To view as valuable.
Increase the value of
“The Germans want to appreciate the Deutsche Mark.”
Gain in value
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Be fully aware of; realize fully
Used this way, appreciate is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Do you appreciate the full meaning of this letter?”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Fullyverb
“Do you appreciate the full meaning of this letter?”
Increaseverb
“The Germans want to appreciate the Deutsche Mark.”
More ways to use appreciate
- “Do you appreciate the full meaning of this letter?”verb
- “The Germans want to appreciate the Deutsche Mark.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Say it better
Looking for a more precise alternative? “appreciate” can mean several things.
Thanks so much, that really helped.I appreciate you taking the time to do this.Thank you for staying late to finish the slides.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.