Synonyms

accept

American

[ak-sept, ik-] / ækˈsɛpt, ɪk- /

verb (used with object)

to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor.

to accept a present;
to accept a proposal.

Antonyms:

reject
to agree or consent to; accede to.

to accept a treaty;
to accept an apology.

Synonyms:

concede
to respond or answer affirmatively to.

to accept an invitation.
to undertake the responsibility, duties, honors, etc., of.

to accept the office of president.
to receive or admit formally, as to a college or club.
to accommodate or reconcile oneself to.

to accept the situation.
to regard as true or sound; believe.

to accept a claim;
to accept Catholicism.

Synonyms:

acknowledge
to regard as normal, suitable, or usual.
to receive as to meaning; understand.
Commerce. to acknowledge, by signature, as calling for payment, and thus to agree to pay, as a draft.
(in a deliberative body) to receive as an adequate performance of the duty with which an officer or a committee has been charged; receive for further action.

The report of the committee was accepted.
to receive or contain (something attached, inserted, etc.).

This socket won't accept a three-pronged plug.
to receive (a transplanted organ or tissue) without adverse reaction.

verb (used without object)

to accept an invitation, gift, position, etc. (sometimes followed byof ).

accept British

/ əkˈsɛpt /

verb

to take or receive (something offered)
to give an affirmative reply to

to accept an invitation
to take on the responsibilities, duties, etc, of

he accepted office
to tolerate or accommodate oneself to
to consider as true or believe in (a philosophy, theory, etc)

I cannot accept your argument
(may take a clause as object) to be willing to grant or believe

you must accept that he lied
to receive with approval or admit, as into a community, group, etc
commerce to agree to pay (a bill, draft, shipping document, etc), esp by signing
to receive as adequate, satisfactory, or valid
to receive, take, or hold (something applied, inserted, etc)
archaic to take or receive an offer, invitation, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What’s the difference between accept and except? Accept is a common word with many meanings, most of which involve receiving something, taking something on, or putting up with something. Except is most commonly used as a preposition meaning excluding or but, as in Everyone was invited except me, or as a conjunction meaning but for the fact that, as in I would have called, except I lost my phone. Except can also be used as a verb meaning to exclude, as in the common phrase present company excepted, but its verb use is much less common. In contrast, accept is always a verb. To remember the difference in the spelling between accept and except, remember that except shares the prefix ex- with exclude, which is fitting since except is commonly used in situations in which someone or something has been excluded. Accept, on the other hand, is often used in situations in which something is acquired. Here’s an example of accept and except used correctly in the same sentence. Example: I usually accept your excuses, except this time I know they’re not true. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between accept and except.

Commonly Confused

The verbs accept and except are sometimes confused because of their similar pronunciations, especially in rapid speech. Accept means “to take or receive” ( I accept this trophy ), while except means “to exclude” ( Certain types of damage are excepted from coverage in this insurance policy ).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of accept

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English accepten, from Middle French accepter, from Latin acceptāre “to take, receive regularly,” frequentative of accipere “to take, receive,” equivalent to ac- ac- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”; cf. captive ( def. )

Explanation

Please accept ("favorably receive") our apologies, but you're just going to have to accept ("put up with") the fact that this verb has almost a dozen different meanings. You might accept ("take") bribes from people who dislike multiple meanings, or they might challenge you to a duel, which you might accept ("consent to"). When historians record your story, you might accept ("officially receive") their books and accept ("hold as true") the most flattering one. When you apply to cool-people clubs, they'll accept ("admit") you, and when you go broke, they'll accept ("take on") your debt, until the day your coffin accepts ("takes") your weary accepting bones.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing accept

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

accept accepts accepted accepting

Tthe conditions "were not in line with SETE's values, nor with the principles of equality between men and women," the company said, promising to accept the "consequences".

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

Israel Gantz, chairman of the Yesha Council, which represents the settlements, said the settler movement “will never accept violence.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

That meant she had to come through qualifying - something she found difficult to accept.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

The district would then “have the option to immediately accept the proposal submitted by the highest ranked” developer or to enter negotiations with the developer to attain the best deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

I don’t want to run, and I don’t want to just accept that the dashiki is gone.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

At first, the public accepts them at their own level of self-esteem, showering them with wealth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Forte plays Kevin Avery, a downcast injury lawyer living in Albuquerque who begrudgingly accepts a new client, the tenacious Wile E. Coyote, in a trial against the Acme Corp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

That he accepts that the outcome of the case against Manchester City for more than 100 alleged breaches of its financial rules is taking longer than expected.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Talarico’s campaign emphasizes the need to get the government out of private personal decisions, and the Democrat advocates for a version of Christianity that accepts all people as made in God’s image.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

“If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding.”

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

The firm told AFP that "these conditions should not have been accepted".

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

In the eighth grade, Elsesser accepted a full scholarship to an elite boarding school in East Hampton, N.Y.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

CDC staff had previously accepted Pennsylvania’s characterization of the deaths as associated with measles, according to Reuters.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

After 60 days, the owner of the data center offered Lori $899,000, which she accepted.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Around noon, he walked over to nearby Ford’s Theatre, a block from Pennsylvania Avenue, to pick up his mail: Ford’s customarily accepted personal mail as a courtesy to actors.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

"He's performing incredibly well. It's going to be exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap. So I'm just sort of accepting that is what it is."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

As those cost buffers fade, manufacturers may have to choose between raising prices, accepting lower profit margins, or risking weaker demand, it adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Postal workers would then check samples from large batches of outgoing ballots against that information before accepting them for delivery.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

And after gladly accepting the 44%-off deal, all I could think about were other customers who had paid the full amount because they might not have known the price was negotiable.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

It sounds like what Asase was telling me about unlocking my true power by accepting my grief.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023