according

according — verb

1. to give a person, group, or idea the special status, recognition, or kindly trea

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to give a person, group, or idea the special status, recognition, or kindly treatment that you feel they deserve.

Example

The university accorded Professor Okafor an honorary degree for forty years of teaching.

ditransitive: accord + person + thing (status, honour)

Visiting elders are accorded the seat closest to the fire in many Mongolian homes.

passive: be accorded + thing

Common collocations
  • accord respect
  • accord recognition
  • accord priority
  • be accorded the same rights
  • accord due weight to
Synonyms
  • grant

    more neutral; standard for permissions, requests, and rights

  • bestow

    even more ceremonial; often for titles or formal gifts

  • give

    the everyday word; 'accord' implies the recipient deserves it

Antonyms
  • deny

    to refuse to give the status or treatment someone deserves

  • withhold

    to deliberately keep back recognition that is due

Grammar Patterns

accord + indirect object + direct object

accord + direct object + to + person

be accorded + noun

Usage Note

Frequently passive (be accorded + noun) and almost always paired with abstract objects of value: respect, recognition, status, honour, rights, treatment, priority. Avoid using it for everyday giving of physical objects.

Common Mistakes

The waiter accorded me a glass of water.
The waiter brought me a glass of water.
accord is for abstract honours or rights, not concrete objects.
They accorded with him a warm welcome.
They accorded him a warm welcome.
no preposition between the verb and the indirect object.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four verbs describe one party transferring something to another, but they differ in formality and the kind of thing transferred. 'Give' is the everyday choice and works for any object, concrete or abstract. 'Grant' is neutral-formal and is the standard word for permissions, requests, and rights — a court grants bail, a manager grants leave. 'Bestow' is the most ceremonial; a monarch bestows a title, a foundation bestows an award, and the verb suggests a public, almost ritual act. 'Accord' sits between grant and bestow in formality, but its distinctive flavour is that the recipient is felt to deserve what they receive — the verb implies recognition of merit. You bestow an honour on someone; you accord someone the respect their position calls for. So a judge grants an appeal, a king bestows a knighthood, but a community accords a respected elder a place at the head of the table.

accord ↗grant ↗bestow ↗give ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • accord due respect
  • be accorded the same rights as
  • accord priority to

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Borrowed into English in the early 1100s from Old French 'acorder', meaning to bring into agreement or to reconcile. The French verb came from Latin 'ad-' (to) plus 'cor, cordis' (heart) — literally 'bring hearts together'. The original sense of bringing two parties into harmony survives in nouns like 'a peace accord'. The 'give what is due' meaning developed later, drawing on the same idea of matching what is appropriate to a person.