acceptance

American  

[ak-sep-tuhns, ik-] / ækˈsɛp təns, ɪk- /

noun

1. the act of taking or receiving something offered.

2. favorable reception; approval; favor.

3. the act of assenting or believing.

   acceptance of a theory.

4. the fact or state of being accepted or acceptable.

5. acceptation.

6. Commerce.

   1. an engagement to pay an order, draft, or bill of exchange when it becomes due, as by the person on whom it is drawn.

   2. an order, draft, etc., that a person or bank has accepted as calling for payment and has thus promised to pay.

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acceptance British  

/ əkˈsɛptəns /

noun

1. the act of accepting or the state of being accepted or acceptable

2. favourable reception; approval

3. (often foll by of) belief (in) or assent (to)

4. commerce

   1. a formal agreement by a debtor to pay a draft, bill, etc

   2. the document so accepted Compare bank acceptance

5. (plural) a list of horses accepted as starters in a race

6. contract law words or conduct by which a person signifies his assent to the terms and conditions of an offer or agreement

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Other Word Forms

• nonacceptance noun
• preacceptance noun
• proacceptance adjective
• reacceptance noun
• self-acceptance noun
• unacceptance noun

Etymology

Origin of acceptance

First recorded in 1565–75; accept + -ance

Example Sentences

West didn’t just embody feminist fat acceptance; she made it cool and brought it to the masses.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

However, the follow-up replication studies struggled to gain acceptance from those same journals.

From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026

None have been nearly good enough to achieve mass-market acceptance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Growth will typically occur over a five-to-seven-year horizon once alumni outcomes become visible and employer acceptance for these students stabilises as enrolment decisions are increasingly outcome-driven in India, according to Ghosal.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

And now, a year later, I was in my kitchen holding my acceptance letter and wondering if he had one too.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Related Words

• accession
• acknowledgment
• admission
• adoption
• affirmation
• agreement
• approval
• concession
• recognition