Etymology : Middle English recognicion, from Latin recognition-, recognitio, from recognoscere
Pronunciation : "re-kig-'ni-sh&n, -k&g
Function : noun
Date : 15th century
1. acknowledgment; identification. recognition\rec`og*ni"tion\ , n. [l. recognitio: cf. f. recognition. see:
recognizance.] the act of recognizing, or the state of being recognized; acknowledgment; formal avowal; knowledge confessed or avowed; notice. the lives of such saints had, at the time of their yearly memorials, solemn recognition in the church of god.recognition n.
2. the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged [syn: acknowledgment, acknowledgement].
3. the process of recognizing something or someone by remembering [syn: identification].
4. approval; "give her recognition for trying"; "he was given credit for his work"; "it is to her credit that she tried"; "the credits were given at the end of the film" [syn: credit].
5. coming to understand something by thinking about it; "a growing realization of the risk involved"; "a sudden consciousness of the problem he faced" [syn: realization, realisation].
6. the act of preferring; "the preferment went to the younger candidate" [syn: preferment].
7. The act of recognizing, or the state of being recognized; acknowledgment; formal avowal; knowledge confessed or avowed; notice. 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" the process of recognizing something or someone by remembering; "a politician whose recall of names was as remarkable as his recognition of faces"; "experimental psychologists measure the elapsed time from the onset of the stimulus to its recognition by the observer" an acceptance as true and valid; "the recognition of the Rio Grande as a boundary between Mexico and the United States" approval; "give her recognition for trying"; "he was given credit for his work"; "give her credit for trying"; "the credits were given at the end of the film" 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" 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" 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".
8. 1. Recognition is the act of recognizing someone or identifying something when you see:
it. He searched for a sign of recognition on her face, but there was none.
9. Recognition of something is an understanding and acceptance of it. The CBI welcomed the Chancellor's recognition of the recession and hoped for a reduction in interest rates. = acknowledgement.
10. When a government gives diplomatic recognition to another country, they officially accept that its status is valid. His government did not receive full recognition by Britain until July.
11. When a person receives recognition for the things that they have done, people acknowledge the value or skill of their work. At last, her father's work has received popular recognition.
12. emphasis If you say that someone or something has changed beyond recognition or out of all recognition, you mean that person or thing has changed so much that you can no longer recognize them. The bodies were mutilated beyond recognition The situation in Eastern Europe has changed out of all recognition.
13. If something is done in recognition of someone's achievements, it is done as a way of showing official appreciation of them. Brazil normalised its diplomatic relations with South Africa in recognition of the steps taken to end apartheid. optical character recognition pattern recognition speech recognition voice recognition.