Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: GOVERNMENT

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Old French
Origin: reconoistre, from Latin recognoscere, from cognoscere 'to know'

recognize

 verb
     
rec‧og‧nize S1 W1 also recognise British English [transitive]
1 [not in progressive] to know who someone is or what something is, because you have seen, heard, experienced, or learned about them in the past:
I didn't recognize you in your uniform.
It was malaria, but Dr Lee hadn't recognized the symptoms.
 ➔ see usage note realize
2SSOPG to officially accept that an organization, government, document etc has legal or official authority:
British medical qualifications are recognized in Canada.
recognize something as something
The World Health Organization has recognized alcoholism as a disease since 1951.
3 to accept or admit that something is true
recognize (that)
One must recognise that homesickness is natural.
recognize what/how/who etc
It is important to recognize how little we know about this disease.
➔ see usage note realize
4 [usually in passive] if something is recognized by people, they realize that it is important or very good:
Alexander tried to get his work recognized by the medical profession.
be recognized as something
Lawrence's novel was eventually recognized as a work of genius.
a recognized authority on Roman pottery
5 to officially and publicly thank someone for something they have done, by giving them a special honour:
He was recognized for having saved many lives.
—recognizable adjective:
—recognizably adverb
WORD CHOICE: WORD CHOICE:

realize, recognizeIf you realize a fact, you know and understand it, or begin to understand it • Do you realize how dangerous this is? • I realized that the job was going to take longer than I thought.If you recognize a fact or problem, you accept that it exists • We recognize that many students need extra help. • The government does not recognize the need for more funding.!! Realize is not followed by 'about' or 'of' • She already had a boyfriend, but I didn't realize this (NOT didn't realize about this). ➔ See also realize
Definition of recognize from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic GOVERNMENT
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