Acknowl'edge, v. t.
(ăk-nŏl'lej), v. t. [imp. & pp. ACKNOWLEDGED; p. pr. & vb. n. ACKNOWLEDGING.] [O. Eng. acknowledge, from prefix a and knowledge.]
Sense 1. To own, avow, admit, or confess a knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; as, to acknowledge the being of a God.
I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Ps. li. 3.
Sense 2. To own or recognize with particular regard or in a particular character.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him. Prov. iii. 6.
He that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 1 John ii. 23.
By my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee. Shak.
Sense 3. To own with gratitude; to own as a benefit; as, to acknowledge a favor, or the receipt of a gift.
They his gifts acknowledged not. Milton.
Sense 4. To own, avow, or assent to in a legal form, to give it validity; as, to acknowledge a deed before competent authority.
Synonyms— To avow; proclaim; recognize; own; admit; allow; concede; confess. — ACKNOWLEDGE, RECOGNIZE. Acknowledge is opposed to keep back, or conceal, and supposes that something had been previously known to us (though perhaps not to others) which we now feel bound to lay open or make public. Thus, a man acknowledges a secret marriage; one who has done wrong acknowledges his fault; an author acknowledges his obligations to those who have aided him. Recognize supposes that we have either forgotten or not had the evidence of a thing distinctly before our minds, but that now we know it (as it were) anew, or receive and admit it on the ground of the evidence it brings. Thus, we recognize a friend after a long absence. We recognize facts, principles, truths, &c., when their evidence is brought up fresh to the mind; as, “bad men usually recognize the providence of God in seasons of danger.” A foreign minister, consul, or agent of any kind, is recognized on the ground of his producing satisfactory credentials.