Synonyms for acknowledge
verb
To admit
concede, admit, confess, declare; see admit 2, 3.
To recognize the authority of
recognize, accept, endorse, certify, confirm, uphold, support, ratify,
approve, defend, subscribe to, acquiesce in, accede to, make
legal, attest to, take an oath by, defer to, have to hand it to*.
To answer
respond to, reply to, answer, thank, recognize, make acknowledgment, notice, R.S.V.P.; see also greet, thank. See syn. study atadmit.
See acknowledge in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
acknowledge admit own avow confess concede
These verbs mean to admit the reality or truth of something, often reluctantly. To acknowledge is to accept responsibility for something one makes known: He acknowledged his mistake.
Admit implies reluctance in acknowledging one's acts or another point of view: “She was attracted by the frankness of a suitor who . . . admitted that he did not believe in marriage” (Edith Wharton).
Own stresses personal acceptance and responsibility: She owned that she feared for the child's safety.
Avow means to assert openly and boldly: “Old Mrs. Webb avowed that he, in the space of two hours, had worn out her pew more . . . than she had by sitting in it forty years” (Kate Douglas Wiggin).
Confess usually emphasizes disclosure of something damaging or inconvenient to oneself: I have to confess that I lied to you.
To concede is to intellectually accept something, often against one's will: The lawyer refused to concede that the two cases had similarities.
See acknowledge in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To recognize, often reluctantly, the reality or truth of:
admit, avow, concede, confess, grant, own (up). (Slang) fess up. (Chiefly Regional) allow. See affirm, knowledgeTo express recognition of:
admit, recognize. See affirm, knowledge
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