Meaning & use
admittal
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of openly acknowledging that something is true, especially a fault or a mistake.
Grammar: Rare; admission is the usual noun: an admittal of guilt.
Patterns
- an admittal of something
- an admittal that clause
His admittal of the error surprised the whole board.
The letter contained a frank admittal that the project had failed.
She waited for an admittal of fault that never came.
noununcountablearchaic
The act of allowing someone to enter or join a place or group.
Grammar: Very rare in this sense; most people say admission or admittance.
Patterns
- admittal to something
Admittal to the hall was granted only to members.
The club's rules governed admittal of new guests.
Her admittal to the school came after the interview.
Word forms
| plural | admittals |
|---|
Common combinations
- an admittal of guilt
- The note was seen as an admittal of guilt.
- a public admittal
- He made a public admittal of the mistake.
- an admittal of failure
- Selling the shop was an admittal of failure.
- refuse an admittal
- The company refused any admittal of responsibility.
Synonyms and how they differ
- admission
- Admission is the normal, far more common noun, and works for both confessing and entering.
- confession
- Confession suggests revealing something wrong or secret, usually more serious than an admittal.
- acknowledgment
- Acknowledgment is neutral and means recognizing something exists or is true, without blame.
- admittance
- Admittance means permission to enter, and is mostly seen on signs.
Opposites
Word family
- admit verb
- to confess or allow to enter
- admission noun
- the act of confessing or entering
- admittance noun
- permission to enter
- admittedly adverb
- used to concede a point
Commonly confused: admittal or admittance?
admittal vs admittance
Admittance usually means the right to enter a place, not confessing something.
Practice
Which noun is the usual everyday word for confessing a fault, where admittal would be rare?
Choose one answer.
Admission is the standard noun for acknowledging a fact or fault. Admittance usually means permission to enter.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “admittal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.