admission

[ ad-mish-uhn ]

noun

1. the act of allowing to enter; entrance granted by permission, by provision or existence of pecuniary means, or by the removal of obstacles:

   the admission of foreign aid workers into the zone of active conflict.

2. right or permission to enter:

   granting admission to the rare books room.

   Synonyms: access

3. the price paid for entrance, as to a theater or ball park.
4. an act or condition of being received or accepted in a position, profession, occupation, or office; appointment:

   admission to the bar.

5. confession of a charge, an error, or a crime; acknowledgment:

   His admission of the theft solved the mystery.

6. an acknowledgment of the truth of something.
7. a point or statement admitted; concession.

admission

/ ədˈmɪʃən /

noun

1. permission to enter or the right, authority, etc, to enter
2. the price charged for entrance
3. acceptance for a position, office, etc
4. a confession, as of a crime, mistake, etc
5. an acknowledgment of the truth or validity of something

Derived Forms

• adˈmissive, adjective

Other Words From

• nonad·mission noun
• proad·mission adjective
• read·mission noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of admission¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French and Latin admissiōn- (stem of admissiō ), equivalent to admiss-, past participial stem of the verb admittere admit + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of admission¹

C15: from Latin admissiōn-, from admittere to admit

Synonym Study

See entrance ¹.

Example Sentences

The first, a young father from a town in the southern Netherlands, suffered shortness of breath, cough and fever at home for eight days before admission to intensive care.

From Fortune

The admission opened Barrios up to a potential violation of the city ethics ordinance, which prohibits officials from being paid by an outside entity while also on the city clock.

From Voice of San Diego

If the city ultimately decides to vacate people’s seditious language tickets and make them whole for the fines they paid, doing so could be seen as an admission that those people had been wronged.

From Voice of San Diego

The number of psychiatric admissions that went beyond medical necessity first spiked in 2015, going from 88 the year before to 246.

From ProPublica

After high school, he moved to Tokyo and worked for two years at a cardboard factory before winning admission to Hosei University.

From Fortune

Admission is free, but by invitation only, and advance RSVP is required.

From The Daily Beast

Then came the admission of a sham marriage with an immigrant.

From The Daily Beast

He said it did not matter that today ISIS and al Qaeda were, by their own admission, two distinct entities.

From The Daily Beast

No such admission has not come from Thomas Jackson, the Ferguson police chief.

From The Daily Beast

He gestures to such emotions, grapples with them, but a direct engagement—an open admission such as this—is rare.

From The Daily Beast

He had got his ticket of admission to the Casino, after arriving yesterday evening; but the Rooms had not pleased him then.

From Project Gutenberg

In the good old days of yore there was little trouble in obtaining admission to the Civil Service.

From Project Gutenberg

But the novel disappeared under the clothes with amazing celerity as the voice of her sister-in-law demanded admission.

From Project Gutenberg

Such an admission, coming from her brave lips, warned Frank that he must call a halt regardless of loss of time.

From Project Gutenberg

The pole was raised by the admission of the strong steam under its bottom.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accession
• admittance
• assertion
• concession
• confirmation
• disclosure
• revelation
• statement
• testimony

More About Admission

What is an admission?

An admission is entrance by permission or the removal of obstacles to entry, as in The admission of girls into the science program has been a long time coming.

Admission is also a right or permission to enter, as in Only employees have admission to the backstage area.

Admission can also be the price paid in order to enter, as at a sports or theater event.

An admission can also be a confession or acknowledgement of the truth, as when you admit that you were the one who broke your mother’s favorite dish.

Example: Just the first act of the play was worth the price of admission.

Where does admission come from?

The first records of the term admission come from the 1400s. It ultimately comes from the Latin admissiō.

Admission can be a shortening of phrases like admission cost, admission rate, or admission price. The phrase price of admission is often used figuratively to refer to a small annoyance or task that comes with a job, event, or activity. Sometimes this will even be applied to people, as in Dealing with her cats is the price of admission to hang out with her.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to admission?

• nonadmission (noun)
• proadmission (adjective)
• readmission (noun)

What are some synonyms for admission?

• acceptance
• confirmation
• recognition
• confession
• disclosure

What are some words that share a root or word element with admission?

• admissible
• admissibility
• admissive

What are some words that often get used in discussing admission?

• hospital
• paid
• program
• qualify

How is admission used in real life?

In terms of guilt, admission is normally used in a legal context, while in terms of entrance, admission is normally used in reference to a paid ticket or acceptance to a program.

an apology without change is just an admission of guilt. don’t forget it

— Andrea Russett – BUTTERFLY WINGS OUT NOW (@AndreaRussett) February 1, 2019

Lot of high school seniors who applied early admission to college are getting news today that maybe they didn’t want.

Everything is going to be ok.

Rejection sucks but you can almost certainly end up someplace you absolutely love and get a great education. Hang in there.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 13, 2018

BREAKING: US slashes refugee admission limit for next year to 30,000, 15,000 fewer than this year.

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 17, 2018

Try using admission!

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for admission?

A. confession
B. denial
C. acknowledgement
D. disclosure