Word family noun acceptance adjective acceptable ≠ unacceptable accepted verb accept adverb acceptably ≠ unacceptably
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishacceptac‧cept /əkˈsept/ ●●● S1 W1 verb 1 gift/offer/invitation [intransitive, transitive] to take something that someone offers you, or to agree to do something that someone asks you to do OPP refuse Rick accepted her offer of coffee. He accepted the invitation to stay with us. His school reports said that he is always ready to accept a challenge (=agree to do something difficult). Please accept this small gift. They offered me a job and I accepted.accept something from somebody He accepted a glass of water from Helen. He readily accepted her invitation (=accepted it quickly).RegisterIn everyday English, when talking about accepting a job, accepting responsibility or blame, or accepting a method of payment, people usually use take: They offered me the job and I accepted. → They offered me the job and I took it.When talking about accepting an offer, people often say take someone up on their offer:He decided to take her up on her offer.2 situation/problem etc [transitive] to decide that there is nothing you can do to change a difficult and unpleasant situation or fact and continue with your normal life He’s not going to change, and you just have to accept it.accept that We have to accept that this is not an ideal world. He can't accept the fact that his problems are his own fault.3 think somebody/something is good enough [transitive] to decide that someone has the necessary skill or intelligence for a particular job, course etc or that a piece of work is good enough OPP reject Students accepted by Stanford Law School had very high scores on the LSAT.accept somebody/something as something They have accepted him as the representative of the company.accept somebody/something for something Random House accepted the book for publication.4 become part of a group [transitive] to allow someone to become part of a group, society, or organization, and to treat them in the same way as the other members OPP rejectaccept somebody as something The children gradually began to accept her as one of the family.accept somebody into something It often takes years for immigrants to be accepted into the host community.5 agree to take/deal with something [transitive]FORGIVE to agree to take or deal with something that someone gives you, or to say that it is suitable or good enough The government has accepted the resignation of a senior army commander. Please accept my sincere apologies. Sorry, we don’t accept traveller’s cheques. 6 suggestion/advice [transitive] to decide to do what someone suggests or advises you should do Be prepared to accept the advice of members of staff.7 believe an explanation/statement [transitive] to agree that what someone says is right or true OPP reject She has accepted your explanation as to why you didn’t attend the meeting.► see thesaurus at believeGrammarIn more formal English, you say it is accepted that when saying what people generally believe is true: It is accepted that he was sincere in his claim. 8 → accept responsibility/blame for somethingCOLLOCATIONSnounsaccept an offerIn the end I had to accept his offer of £4,500.accept an invitationAre you going to accept their invitation to the wedding?accept helpDon’t be afraid to accept help if you need it.accept aidEgypt gratefully accepted American economic aid.accept assistanceThey were ready to accept French military assistance.accept a challengeTo protect the environment we must accept some difficult challenges.accept an awardMiller accepted the award for best comedy show.accept an opportunityI wish that I’d accepted the opportunity to retire when it was offered.accept a gift/presentAccepting presents from him made her feel uncomfortable.accept a jobShe was desperate for money so she accepted the job.accept a lift British English, accept a ride American EnglishI had been taught not to accept lifts from strangers.accept a bribeThe president’s family and friends accepted massive bribes in exchange for official favours.adverbsgladly/willingly/readily acceptShe invited him for a drink and he gladly accepted.gratefully acceptHe gratefully accepted Athena’s help.graciously acceptShe accepted her gift graciously. GRAMMAR: Comparisonaccept• You accept something: She decided to accept the offer.I accepted his invitation to have dinner with him. ✗Don’t say: I accepted to have dinner with him.agree• You agree to something: Her parents would never agree to the marriage. ✗Don’t say: Her parents would never agree the marriage.• You agree to do something: I agreed to have dinner with him.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
accept• But wordings which did not take the shape of a request also soon came to be accepted.• The end user must have an Internet browser capable of accepting and playing the applet.• The office does not accept applications from non-residents.• Owens refused to accept Bisonga's explanation.• Norton is in prison for accepting bribes.• The idea of a common defence force has been accepted by some EU governments.• With subtle flattery she had gradually been accepted by the housekeeper.• She succeeded in persuading the jury to accept her version of the events.• One day, not long before he died, he accepted it.• Divorce is hard on children, but they have to accept it.• Going to a new school is hard, but you have to try and accept it.• If they offered you a place on the course, would you accept it?• My parents have always accepted me just as I am.• Yet they have helped persuade a suspicious population to accept Mr Salinas's much-needed reforms.• The child's solicitor must serve and accept service of documents on the child's behalf where there is no guardian.• The judge accepted that Carter did not mean to harm anyone.• She'll never accept that her husband has been unfaithful.• Steptoe finally accepted that his son didn't want to continue working in the family business.• In the US, people have come to accept that they will probably have several different jobs over the course of their career.• It was difficult for Paul to accept the fact that he was going bald.• I finally accepted the fact that I would die if I didn't stop smoking.• People are beginning to accept the idea that higher taxes may be necessary.• Alice accepted the job of sales manager.• I decided to accept the job.• After a three week strike, the company has finally accepted the workers' pay demands.• Do you accept travelers' checks here?accepted ... offer• For reasons which had seemed wise at the time, the Bar had not accepted that offer at that stage.• Shortly after I accepted Bantam's offer, I got pneumonia.• He accepted the offer of a lift.• The successful applicants accepted these offers of split contracts, though without massive enthusiasm.• Mrs Chapman accepted my offer the following morning.• It was not until two years later, however, that Clark accepted Chapman's offer to join the team.• Not the greatest of air travellers, the policeman had accepted Duncan's offer to sit up front in the cockpit.accept that• I for my part have some difficulty in accepting that.• Part of her refused to accept that, after all, she couldn't have what she wanted.• And only when he got it did he accept that his day had arrived.• You refuse to accept that I knew nothing about the drugs.• He accepted that legalisation would not necessarily greatly increase addiction to hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin.• Once she accepted that, she had felt less raw for a time.• Mrs Harker accepts that some reduction in staff may be necessary but hopes voluntary tutors will help out.• The jury accepted that the DNA evidence was flawed.accept somebody/something for something• Hsiu's article was accepted for publication in "Science" magazine.accepted ... resignation• As Prime Minister he accepted the resignation of his Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1958 rather than agree to modest public expenditure cuts.• Finally, on June 29, Pérez accepted the resignations of six Cabinet ministers and five more junior government members.From Longman Business Dictionaryacceptac‧cept /əkˈsept/ verb [intransitive, transitive]1to take or agree to take something that has been offeredThe steel workers have accepted a 3% wage offer.accept something from somebodyDoctors should not accept expensive gifts from pharmaceutical companies.2to agree to a plan, idea, agreement etcThe US is ready to accept the deal.3to agree to take goods that have been orderedThe company has shipped three supercomputers, but only two have been accepted.4MARKETING when people accept a new product, they like it and are willing to buy itThe machine is too highly priced to be accepted by the mass of US consumers.5accept cash/dollars/cheques/credit cards etc to allow customers to pay using these forms of paymentDo you accept Visa? 6accept a bill of exchangeBANKING to agree to pay a BILL OF EXCHANGE7accept a riskINSURANCE to officially agree to insure somethingThe insurance company reserves the right to make medical checks prior to accepting a risk on health insurance.→ See Verb tableOrigin accept (1300-1400) French accepter, from Latin acceptare, from accipere “to receive”, from ad- “to” + capere “to take” 