admittedly

admittedly — adverb

1. said when you accept that part of what someone has argued is true or fair, often

1.adverbB2
Definition

said when you accept that part of what someone has argued is true or fair, often before adding a counter-point of your own — for example, granting that a film was slow while still defending it as worth watching.

Example

Admittedly, Lior arrived late, but he stayed and finished every dish in the kitchen.

sentence-initial: Admittedly, + clause, but + counter-point

The new bakery is, admittedly, quite small, yet the bread there is the best in town.

mid-sentence: clause, admittedly, + concession

Common collocations
  • admittedly small
  • admittedly limited
  • admittedly difficult
  • admittedly biased
  • admittedly imperfect
Synonyms
  • granted

    very close in meaning; slightly more conversational and often stands alone as a one-word reply

  • true

    informal opener that concedes a point; usually followed directly by 'but'

  • certainly

    stronger agreement; less of a concession and more of an emphatic 'yes'

  • of course

    concedes something the listener already knows; can sound impatient if overused

Antonyms
  • arguably

    presents a claim as open to debate rather than already accepted

Grammar Patterns

Admittedly, + clause

clause, admittedly, + clause

Usage Note

Functions as a sentence adverb, not as a manner adverb on a single verb. It almost always pairs with a contrasting clause led by 'but', 'yet', 'though', or 'however' — speakers grant one fact in order to push back with a stronger point.

Common Mistakes

She admittedly the cake.
Admittedly, she ate the whole cake.
'admittedly' modifies the whole sentence, it does not replace the verb.
He spoke admittedly about his loss.
Admittedly, he found the loss painful.
for the manner sense ('openly') use 'frankly' or 'openly'; 'admittedly' only signals a concession.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All four words help a speaker step back and judge a claim, but each does a different job. 'Admittedly' is the careful concession: the speaker reluctantly grants one point so they can push back with a bigger one — 'Admittedly, the price is high, but the quality is excellent.' 'Granted' is its more casual cousin and often stands alone as a single-word reply ('Granted.'). 'Of course' agrees with something the listener is expected to know already, so it can sound a little impatient. 'Arguably' moves in the opposite direction: instead of accepting a claim, it flags the claim as open to debate, as in 'She is arguably the best player on the team.' Use 'admittedly' when you want to sound fair-minded before disagreeing.

admittedly ↗grantedarguably ↗of course ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • admittedly, ... but ...
  • admittedly, ... however, ...
  • admittedly, ... though ...

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Built in English from the verb 'admit' (to accept that something is true) plus the past-participle ending '-ed' and the adverb ending '-ly'. 'Admit' itself was borrowed in late Middle English from Latin 'admittere', meaning 'to let in' — formed from 'ad-' ('to, toward') and 'mittere' ('to send'). The adverb form became common in writing from the early 1700s, where it was used to mark a speaker's reluctant acceptance of a fact before raising a counter-argument.