WordWeb Online

1. The state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged
   "the partners were delighted with the recognition of their work"; "she seems to avoid much in the way of recognition or acknowledgement of feminist work prior to her own";
   - acknowledgment, acknowledgement
    
2. The process of recognizing something or someone by remembering
   "experimental psychologists measure the elapsed time from the onset of the stimulus to its recognition by the observer"; "a politician whose recall of names was as remarkable as his recognition of faces";
   - identification
    
3. Acknowledgement, praise or respect for something, e.g. having a quality, producing something, doing something, etc.
   "give her recognition for trying";
   - credit
    
4. Coming to understand something clearly and distinctly
   "a sudden recognition of the problem he faced"; "increasing recognition that diabetes frequently coexists with other chronic diseases";
   - realization, realisation [Brit]
    
5. (biology) the ability of one molecule to attach to another molecule that has a complementary shape
   "molecular recognition drives all of biology, for instance, hormone and receptor or antibody-antigen interactions or the organization of molecules into larger biologically active entities"
    
6. The explicit and formal acknowledgement of a government or of the national independence of a country
   "territorial disputes were resolved in Guatemala's recognition of Belize in 1991"
    
7. An acceptance (as of a claim) as true and valid
   "the recognition of the Rio Grande as a boundary between Mexico and the United States"
    
8. Designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body
   "he was unable to make his motion because he couldn't get recognition by the chairman"

Derived forms: recognitions

See also: acknowledged, unacknowledged

Type of: acceptance, appointment, apprehension, approval, assignment, commendation, credence, designation, diplomacy, diplomatic negotiations, discernment, memory, naming, organic phenomenon, remembering, savvy, understanding

Encyclopedia: Recognition