(BrE also recognise) verb (not used in the progressive tenses)
1 [VN] ~ sb/sth (by / from sth) to know who sb is or what sth is when you see or hear them, because you have seen or heard them or it before:
I recognized him as soon as he came in the room. * Do you recognize this tune? * I recognized her by her red hair.
2 ~ sth (as sth) to admit or to be aware that sth exists or is true:
[VN] They recognized the need to take the problem seriously. * Drugs were not recognized as a problem then. * [Vwh-] Nobody recognized how urgent the situation was. * [Vthat] We recognized that the task was not straightforward. * [VNthat] It was recognized that this solution could only be temporary. [also VNtoinf]
3 ~ sb/sth (as sth) to accept and approve of sb/sth officially:
[VN] recognized schools / qualifications * The UK has refused to recognize the new regime. * [VNtoinf] He is recognized to be their natural leader.
HELPNOTE This pattern is usually used in the passive.
4 [VN] (be recognized )as sth() to be thought of as very good or important by people in general:
The book is now recognized as a classic. * She's a recognized authority on the subject.
5 [VN] to give sb official thanks for sth that they have done or achieved:
His services to the state were recognized with the award of a knighthood.
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
Where does this definition of recognize come from?
This entry for recognize is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Does recognize appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — recognize appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
