noun
- an act of recognizing or the state of being recognized.
- the identification of something as having been previously seen, heard, known, etc.
- the perception of something as existing or true; realization.
- the acknowledgment of something as valid or as entitled to consideration: the recognition of a claim.
- the acknowledgment of achievement, service, merit, etc.
- the expression of this in the form of some token of appreciation: This promotion constitutes our recognition of her exceptional ability.
- formal acknowledgment conveying approval or sanction.
- acknowledgment of right to be heard or given attention: The chairman refused recognition to any delegate until order could be restored.
- International Law. an official act by which one state acknowledges the existence of another state or government, or of belligerency or insurgency.
- the automated conversion of information, as words or images, into a form that can be processed by a machine, especially a computer or computerized device.Compare optical character recognition, pattern recognition.
- Biochemistry. the responsiveness of one substance to another based on the reciprocal fit of a portion of their molecular shapes.
noun
- the act of recognizing or fact of being recognized
- acceptance or acknowledgment of a claim, duty, fact, truth, etc
- a token of thanks or acknowledgment
- formal acknowledgment of a government or of the independence of a country
- mainly US and Canadian an instance of a chairman granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body, debate, etc
mid-15c., “knowledge of an event or incident; understanding,” from Middle French recognition (15c.) and directly from Latin recognitionem (nominative recognitio) “a reviewing, investigation, examination,” noun of action from past participle stem of recognoscere “to acknowledge, know again; examine” (see recognize).
Sense of “formal avowal of knowledge and approval” is from 1590s; especially acknowledgement of the independence of a country by a state formerly exercising sovereignty (1824). Meaning “a knowing again” is from 1798.
n.
- An awareness that something perceived has been perceived before.
- The ability of one molecule to attach itself to another molecule having a complementary shape, as in enzyme-substrate interactions.
In diplomacy, the act by which one nation acknowledges that a foreign government is a legitimate government and exchanges diplomats with it. The withholding of recognition is a way for one government to show its disapproval of another.