Meaning & use
acceptance
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The action of agreeing to receive, take, or formally approve an offer, invitation, request, or responsibility.
Grammar: Uncountable for the general idea; countable for one formal reply or instance.
Patterns
- acceptance of something
- acceptance of an invitation/offer
- formal/official acceptance
Her acceptance of the job came after two interviews.
We need written acceptance of the terms by Friday.
The acceptance of the apology helped end the argument.
noununcountable
A favorable response to a person, group, custom, or idea, shown by approval or willingness to include them.
Grammar: No plural in this sense; it names a general social or institutional response.
Patterns
- acceptance into something
- acceptance of someone
- gain/win acceptance
The new law won gradual acceptance across the country.
Finding acceptance at work changed her confidence.
Acceptance of refugees depends on both policy and public support.
noununcountable
The process of emotionally coming to terms with a difficult fact, loss, or situation.
Grammar: Uncountable; often follows toward or the verb find.
Patterns
- acceptance of loss
- come to acceptance
- move toward acceptance
Grief counseling can support acceptance after a death.
His acceptance of the limits came slowly, not all at once.
Moving toward acceptance helped her sleep again.
Word forms
| plural | acceptances |
|---|
Common combinations
- formal acceptance
- The offer becomes binding only after formal acceptance.
- acceptance speech
- She kept her acceptance speech short and thanked the whole team.
- gain acceptance
- The metric system gained acceptance through trade and education.
- acceptance of responsibility
- Acceptance of responsibility is the first step in repairing trust.
Synonyms and how they differ
- approval
- Approval stresses a positive judgment; acceptance can be neutral agreement or inclusion.
- consent
- Consent fits permission for an action, especially offers or legal steps, not emotional adjustment.
- recognition
- Recognition fits public acknowledgment or validity; acceptance can be private as well.
- adoption
- Adoption fits taking up an idea or method; acceptance is broader and may be passive.
Opposites
Word family
- accept verb
- To receive, agree to, or recognize something.
- acceptable adjective
- Good enough to be allowed or suitable.
- acceptably adverb
- In a satisfactory or tolerable way.
- accepted adjective
- Widely agreed on or recognized.
Commonly confused: acceptance or acceptation?
acceptance vs acceptation
Acceptance is agreement, receipt, or inclusion; acceptation is a rare formal term for the established meaning of a word.
Practice
Complete the sentence: The charity’s work depends on public ___ of its aims.
Choose one answer.
The noun after public is acceptance, meaning favorable reception. Acceptable is an adjective and cannot follow public as a noun phrase here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “acceptance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.