acceptance

acceptance — noun

1. the feeling among most people in a community that an idea, behaviour, or person

1.nounB2
Definition

the feeling among most people in a community that an idea, behaviour, or person is satisfactory and should be welcomed.

Example

Sami's bold new design slowly won acceptance from the older engineers on the team.

win/gain acceptance from [group]

Public acceptance of solar panels has grown quickly in many small towns across Taiwan.

public acceptance of [something]

Common collocations
  • public acceptance
  • wide/broad acceptance
  • win/gain acceptance
  • social acceptance
Synonyms
  • approval

    narrower — official agreement, often from one authority

  • recognition

    stresses being noticed and valued, not just tolerated

  • embrace

    warmer, more enthusiastic welcome

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

acceptance of [something/someone]

gain/win acceptance

Usage Note

Typically uncountable and abstract. Subject is usually a community, public, or peer group rather than a single person; common patterns are 'gain/win acceptance from X' and 'X meets with acceptance'.

Common Mistakes

He got an acceptance from his classmates.
He gained acceptance from his classmates.
this sense is uncountable; do not use 'a/an'.

2. the act of saying yes when someone offers you a job, a place at a school, a gift

2.nounC1
Definition

the act of saying yes when someone offers you a job, a place at a school, a gift, or an invitation.

Example

Camille signed the letter to confirm his acceptance of the marketing job in Taipei.

acceptance of [a job/offer]

Her acceptance of the wedding invitation made her cousin cry with joy.

acceptance of [an invitation]

Common collocations
  • letter of acceptance
  • acceptance speech
  • formal acceptance
  • written acceptance
Synonyms
  • agreement

    broader — can mean any kind of saying yes, not only to an offer

  • confirmation

    stresses making a previous reply official

  • approval

    more formal, often from a higher authority

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

acceptance of [an offer/invitation/place]

letter/email of acceptance

Usage Note

Distinct from sense 1: this sense is concrete and event-based — a single act of saying yes — and can be countable ('an acceptance', 'two acceptances'). Often paired with concrete nouns like 'letter', 'email', or 'speech'.

Common Mistakes

She sent him an acceptance for the party.
She sent him her acceptance of the party invitation.
use 'acceptance of + the offered thing', not 'acceptance for'.

3. the willingness to live with a painful or unwanted situation that you cannot cha

3.nounC1
Definition

the willingness to live with a painful or unwanted situation that you cannot change, instead of fighting against it.

Example

After many quiet months, Diego finally reached acceptance of his father's death.

reach acceptance of [a loss]

Quiet acceptance of the diagnosis helped Aunt Rosa enjoy her remaining years.

quiet/calm acceptance of [a hardship]

Common collocations
  • quiet acceptance
  • calm acceptance
  • come to acceptance
  • reach acceptance
  • reluctant acceptance
Synonyms
  • resignation

    darker — suggests giving up rather than peace

  • tolerance

    putting up with something without necessarily making peace with it

  • surrender

    more dramatic, often used in spiritual contexts

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

acceptance of [a difficult situation]

come to / reach acceptance

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (group approval) and sense 2 (saying yes to an offer): here the object of acceptance is something painful or beyond one's control. Often modified by adjectives like 'quiet', 'calm', or 'reluctant'.

Common Mistakes

After the accident, she had acceptance to her injury.
After the accident, she came to acceptance of her injury.
use 'come to / reach acceptance of', not 'have acceptance to'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe positive responses from a group, but they sit on different points of warmth and authority. 'Acceptance' is the broadest — a general feeling among most people that someone or something belongs. 'Approval' is narrower and often comes from one authority (a parent, a boss, a board): you need approval to act, but you want acceptance to belong. 'Recognition' adds the idea of being noticed and valued for what you have done, not just tolerated. 'Tolerance' is the coolest of the four: people put up with something they may not really like. Compare: 'The new policy won wide acceptance' (people are at peace with it), 'The board gave its formal approval' (one body said yes), 'Her work earned international recognition' (others praise her achievement), and 'The town shows tolerance for noisy tourists' (they bear it without enthusiasm).

acceptance ↗approval ↗recognition ↗tolerance ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • acceptance speech
  • acceptance letter
  • acceptance rate
  • self-acceptance

Adverbs

Phrases

  • win/gain acceptance
  • meet with acceptance
  • come to acceptance
  • find acceptance

Prepositions

  • acceptance of
  • acceptance from
  • acceptance among
  • acceptance into

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

'Acceptance' entered English in the late 16th century, formed from the verb 'accept' plus the noun ending '-ance', which marks an action or its result. 'Accept' itself came through Old French 'accepter' from the Latin verb 'acceptare', meaning to receive willingly — built on 'capere', to take. So at its root, 'acceptance' literally pictures the act of taking something offered with open hands, a meaning still alive in modern senses ranging from agreeing to an offer to making peace with hardship.