recognition

[ rek-uhg-nish-uhn ]

noun

1. an act of recognizing or the state of being recognized.
2. the identification of something as having been previously seen, heard, known, etc.
3. the perception of something as existing or true; realization.
4. the acknowledgment of something as valid or as entitled to consideration:

   the recognition of a claim.

5. the acknowledgment of achievement, service, merit, etc.

   Synonyms: acceptance, notice

6. the expression of this in the form of some token of appreciation:

   This promotion constitutes our recognition of her exceptional ability.

7. formal acknowledgment conveying approval or sanction.
8. acknowledgment of right to be heard or given attention:

   The chairman refused recognition to any delegate until order could be restored.

9. Psychology. the act or process of retrieving information previously encoded and stored in memory, when cued with the targeted information itself: Compare recall ( def 9 ), retrieval ( def 3 ).

   The paper studies the effect of storytelling on English learners’ recognition of vocabulary words.

10. International Law. an official act by which one state acknowledges the existence of another state or government, or of belligerency or insurgency.
11. the automated conversion of information, as words or images, into a form that can be processed by a machine, especially a computer or computerized device. Compare optical character recognition ( def ), pattern recognition ( def ).
12. Biochemistry. the responsiveness of one substance to another based on the reciprocal fit of a portion of their molecular shapes.

recognition

/ ˌrɛkəɡˈnɪʃən; rɪˈkɒɡnɪtɪv /

noun

1. the act of recognizing or fact of being recognized
2. acceptance or acknowledgment of a claim, duty, fact, truth, etc
3. a token of thanks or acknowledgment
4. formal acknowledgment of a government or of the independence of a country
5. an instance of a chairman granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body, debate, etc

recognition

1. In diplomacy, the act by which one nation acknowledges that a foreign government is a legitimate government and exchanges diplomats with it. The withholding of recognition is a way for one government to show its disapproval of another.

Derived Forms

• recognitive, adjective

Other Words From

• rec·og·ni·tion·al adjective
• re·cog·ni·tive [ri-, kog, -ni-tiv], re·cog·ni·to·ry [ri-, kog, -ni-tawr-ee], adjective
• pre·rec·og·ni·tion noun
• un·re·cog·ni·to·ry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of recognition¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English recognicion, either from Old French or directly from Latin recognitiōn- (stem of recognitiō ), equivalent to recognit(us) (past participle of recognōscere; recognize ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of recognition¹

C15: from Latin recognitiō , from recognoscere to know again, from re- + cognoscere to know, ascertain

Example Sentences

But why would we evolve to have such variation in our color recognition?

From Salon

There is a collective recognition, in the Dutch capital and beyond, that as residents seek to rebuild trust, they must address the tensions that fuelled such unrest.

From BBC

“It’s worthy of recognition in the history of Owens Valley, to show how this community stood up to this huge metropolis with lots of power and money.”

From Los Angeles Times

By the end of the show, he brought home three awards — producer and songwriter of the year as well as recognition for regional song.

From Los Angeles Times

Homan’s work won him the Presidential Rank Award, the highest civil service recognition.

From BBC

Related Words

• acceptance
• admission
• appreciation
• awareness
• concession
• perception
• realization
• respect
• understanding