Meaning & use
mutual acceptance
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Meanings
noununcountable
a situation in which two or more people or groups accept each other in the same way
Grammar: Uncountable: it is used without 'a' or 'an', e.g. 'They reached mutual acceptance.'
Patterns
- mutual acceptance between people
- mutual acceptance of something
- reach mutual acceptance
- a sense of mutual acceptance
The two communities worked hard to build mutual acceptance after years of conflict.
Real friendship depends on mutual acceptance, not on changing each other.
The therapy group created an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and respect.
noununcountableformal
agreement by two or more sides to accept the same thing, such as a condition or decision
Grammar: Uncountable and often followed by 'of' plus the thing that is accepted.
Patterns
- mutual acceptance of a proposal
- mutual acceptance of responsibility
- mutual acceptance of the terms
The treaty was possible only through mutual acceptance of the new borders.
Both parties expressed mutual acceptance of the committee's recommendations.
Mutual acceptance of responsibility is essential for any lasting agreement.
Common combinations
- build mutual acceptance
- The school runs programs to build mutual acceptance among students.
- mutual acceptance between groups
- Mutual acceptance between groups takes time and honest communication.
- a sense of mutual acceptance
- Volunteers described a strong sense of mutual acceptance at the shelter.
- mutual acceptance of differences
- The workshop focused on mutual acceptance of cultural differences.
- promote mutual acceptance
- The campaign aims to promote mutual acceptance in the workplace.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tolerance
- Tolerance means putting up with differences without necessarily liking them; mutual acceptance suggests a warmer, more positive attitude.
- reciprocal acceptance
- Very close in meaning but more formal and technical; 'mutual acceptance' is more common in general writing.
- understanding
- Understanding is about knowing another person's feelings or views; mutual acceptance also includes approving of or welcoming them.
Opposites
Word family
- mutual adjective
- Felt or done by two or more people toward each other.
- mutually adverb
- In a way that involves two or more people equally.
- accept verb
- To agree to take something or to recognize it as true or satisfactory.
- acceptance noun
- The act of agreeing to something or the state of being welcomed.
Commonly confused: mutual acceptance or mutual respect?
mutual acceptance vs mutual respect
Mutual respect is about admiring each other's qualities, while mutual acceptance is about welcoming each other despite differences. You can accept someone without deeply respecting them.
Practice
After months of talks, the two sides finally reached ______ of the new trade rules.
Choose one answer.
'Mutual acceptance' is the correct noun phrase after 'reached'. 'Mutual accepted' is grammatically wrong, 'mutually acceptance' uses an adverb before a noun, and 'mutual accepting' is not a standard phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mutual acceptance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.