acknowledge

/əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/

//əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"acknowledge" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acknowledge” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,287. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,287
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acknowledge · acknowledge · English

acknowledge · rank #5,287 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,287
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH accessible

Nearest frequency peer: accessible (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “acknowledge”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “acknowledge” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for acknowledge
PropertyValue
Headwordacknowledge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/
Letters11
Frequency rank#5,287
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “acknowledge”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).acknowledgelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “accessible” (#5,286), “advised” (#5,288), “accepting” (#5,285). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acknowledge” is #5,287. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around acknowledge (IPA /əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,287 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for acknowledge, with forms such as "accknowledge", "ackknowledge", and "acknnowledge". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English aknowen (“to recognize, acknowledge”) and knowlechen (“to discover, reveal, acknowledge”). The former verb is from Old English oncnāwan, ācnāwan (“to know, recognize, acknowledge”), from on + cnāwan (“to know”)… The correct English form is acknowledge, spelled A-C-K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in.
  2. 2
    To own or recognize in a particular quality, character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to.
  3. 3
    To be grateful of (e.g. a benefit or a favour)
  4. 4
    To report (the receipt of a message to its sender).
  5. 5
    To own as genuine or valid; to assent to (a legal instrument) to give it validity; to avow or admit in legal form.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how acknowledge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to acknowledge the being of a god
  2. I acknowledge my transgressions.

Etymology

Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English aknowen (“to recognize, acknowledge”) and knowlechen (“to discover, reveal, acknowledge”). The former verb is from Old English oncnāwan, ācnāwan (“to know, recognize, acknowledge”), from on + cnāwan (“to know”). The latter is derived from the noun at hand in knowledge. For the formation compare Latin agnōscō and Russian призна́ть (priznátʹ), with cognate roots. The /k/-sound was preserved by being redistributed to the preceding syllable: /əˈkn-/ > /əkˈn-/. The -c- was inserted accordingly to reflect this pronunciation more clearly.

Synonyms

avowrecognizeadmitrecognizeadmitallowconcedeconfessowngrant

This word in other languages

reconocer(Español)reconnaître(Français)erkennen(Deutsch)admitir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • accknowledge
  • ackknowledge
  • acknnowledge
  • acknolwedge
  • acknoweldge
  • acknowldege
  • acknowleddge
  • acknowledeg
  • acknowledgge
  • acknowlegde
  • acknowlledge
  • acknowwledge
  • acknwoledge
  • ackonwledge
  • acnkowledge
  • akcnowledge
  • caknowledge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of acknowledge - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

accknowledge1ackknowledge1acknnowledge1acknolwedge2acknoweldge2acknowldege2acknowleddge1acknowledeg2
Edit distance from "acknowledge"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acknowledge"?
"acknowledge" is spelled A-C-K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "acknowledge" mean?
As a verb, "acknowledge" means: To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in.
What are common misspellings of "acknowledge"?
Common misspellings include "accknowledge", "ackknowledge", "acknnowledge", "acknolwedge", "acknoweldge". The correct spelling is "acknowledge".
How do you pronounce "acknowledge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acknowledge" is /əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "acknowledge"?
Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English aknowen (“to recognize, acknowledge”) and knowlechen (“to discover, reveal, acknowledge”). The former verb is from Old English oncnāwan, ācnāwan (“to know, recognize, acknowledge”), from on + cnāwan (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "acknowledge", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

threatening#5,275sustainable#5,271consecutive#5,313practically#5,249

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

proceedings17 variantsexploration17 variantselectronics17 variantscelebrating17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list