recognize
//ˈɹɛk.əɡ.naɪz//
Forms
- present (v1)
- recognize
- past (v2)
- recognized
- past participle (v3)
- recognized
- present participle
- recognizing
- 3rd person singular
- recognizes
Definitions
1.To match (something or someone which one currently perceives) to a memory of some previous encounter with the same person or thing.
- I recognized his face immediately, although his voice was different.
- Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.
2.To acknowledge the existence or legality of; to treat as valid or worthy of consideration.
- The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognize Kosovo on Monday.
3.To acknowledge or consider (as being a certain thing or having a certain quality or property).
- Slavery is widely recognized as immoral.
- I recognize that my behaviour has been unacceptable.
4.To realize or discover the nature of something; apprehend quality in.
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #879
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French reconoistre, from Old French reconoistre, from Latin recognoscere, first attested in the 16th century.
Displaced native English acknow (“to recognize, perceive as”), compare German erkennen and Swedish erkänna.