accept

ac·cept

verb \ik-ˈsept, ak- also ek-\

Definition of ACCEPT

transitive verb

1

a : to receive willingly <accept a gift>

b : to be able or designed to take or hold (something applied or added) <a surface that will not accept ink>

2

: to give admittance or approval to <accept her as one of the group>

3

a : to endure without protest or reaction <accept poor living conditions>

b : to regard as proper, normal, or inevitable <the idea is widely accepted>

c : to recognize as true : believe <refused to accept the explanation>

4

a : to make a favorable response to <accept an offer>

b : to agree to undertake (a responsibility) <accept a job>

5

: to assume an obligation to pay; also : to take in payment <we don't accept personal checks>

6

: to receive (a legislative report) officially

intransitive verb

: to receive favorably something offered —usually used with of <a heart more disposed to accept of his — Jane Austen>

— ac·cept·ing·ly \-ˈsep-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

— ac·cept·ing·ness \-tiŋ-nəs\ noun

Examples of ACCEPT

1. They offered him the job, and he accepted it.
2. They offered him the job, and he accepted.
3. The store doesn't accept credit cards.
4. a surface that will not accept ink
5. a computer program ready to accept commands
6. They accepted some applications and rejected others.
7. She's still trying to get her manuscript accepted for publication.
8. They refused to accept his resignation.
9. a word that has come to be accepted as standard
10. This treatment is now accepted by many doctors.
11. When Bess was born, my mother had a hard time accepting many of our parenting choices. —Kelly Coyle DiNorcia, Mothering, March & April 2008
12. Despite Alexander's general skepticism about speed measurements, he does accept the cheetah as probably the fastest known running species. The measurement he finds most reliable, 29 m/s (about 65 mph), comes from a 1997 record along a 200-meter course clocked by an experienced timekeeper for athletic races. —Susan Milius, Science News, 16 Aug. 2008
13. The Edinburgh Christ in the House of Martha and Mary doesn't look like a Vermeer, although its signature has been accepted as genuine. —James Fenton, New York Review of Books, 6 Nov. 2008

Origin of ACCEPT

Middle English, from Anglo-French accepter, from Latin acceptare, frequentative of accipere to receive, from ad- + capere to take — more at heave

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to ACCEPT

Synonyms

take, have

Antonyms

decline, deny, disallow, disapprove, negative, refuse, reject, spurn, turn down, veto

Related Words

accede (to), assent (to), concede (to), confirm, consent (to), OK (or okay), ratify, sanction, warrant; acquiesce (to), bow (to), capitulate (to), give in (to), submit (to), succumb (to), surrender (to), yield (to); abide, bear, brook, countenance, endure, shoulder, stand, stick out, stomach, support, sustain, swallow, sweat out, tolerate; adopt, embrace, welcome

Near Antonyms

dissent (to), object (to), oppose, protest; hold off, resist, withstand; combat, contest, fight

Rhymes with ACCEPT

adept, backswept, concept, except, inept, percept, precept, transept, upswept, windswept