accepting

1. 1
   adjective

   Marked by a willingness to receive or tolerate people, ideas, or circumstances without resistance or judgment.

   The community proved remarkably accepting of the refugees who settled there.

   She grew more accepting of criticism as her confidence increased.

   Similartolerant, welcoming, receptive, open, understanding

   Oppositeintolerant, judgmental, resistant, hostile

   Note

   A trait word for people and the places they make: families, communities, attitudes. It pairs readily with other warm adjectives (open and accepting, warm and accepting) and takes degree words freely: genuinely accepting, more accepting, most accepting. Where the verb form takes its object directly, the adjective reaches it through of, as in accepting of criticism or accepting of newcomers.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of accept.

   The committee is accepting applications until the end of the month.

   Accepting responsibility for the mistake, she apologized to the whole team.

   Note

   The -ing form of accept does two jobs. After a form of be it builds the progressive (is accepting applications). On its own it heads a gerund phrase that works as a noun (accepting responsibility, accepting blame). Accept is transitive in all its meanings, from admitting someone to a group to enduring something patiently, so the object follows directly with no preposition between.

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