acknowledging

USuhk-NAH-lij-ing/əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ.ɪŋ/UKuhk-NOL-ij-ing/əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ.ɪŋ/

4 meanings of acknowledging

1
verb
Present participle and gerund of acknowledge.
By acknowledging the mistake early, the team avoided a larger crisis.
The senator was acknowledging supporters when the fire alarm went off.
Note
One spelling does two jobs here. As a participle it builds progressive and adverbial clauses (was acknowledging supporters). As a gerund it fills a noun's slot yet still takes a direct object (acknowledging the mistake helped). Acknowledge is transitive in every use, so the -ing form usually has an object: a fact, a favor, receipt of a message, a legal instrument. Without one, the word is usually the noticing adjective.
2
adjective
Noticing or recognizing someone or something; characterized by an act of recognition.
An acknowledging glance passed between the two old rivals before the meeting began.
The host offered an acknowledging smile to each guest as they arrived.
3
nounarchaic
The act of recognizing or admitting that something is true or exists.
The treaty required a formal acknowledging of the new borders by both crowns.
An open acknowledging of the error did much to restore the merchant's standing.
Similaracknowledgement
Note
A noun that has largely given way to acknowledgment (acknowledgement in British spelling). You can tell it by the article and the of: a formal acknowledging of the new borders. Drop those and you have the verb form with a direct object (acknowledging the borders), which is fully current. Modern prose hears the noun as deliberately old-fashioned. Prefer acknowledgment unless that period flavor is the point.

Less common meaning

4
adjectiveobsolete
Expressing esteem or gratitude toward someone.
Note
Gratitude and esteem were once part of the adjective's meaning. Samuel Richardson's Clarissa (1748) calls a young woman's answer "too acknowledging for the female character": too warm in its thanks or deference, not merely attentive. That shade has dropped out of use. Today an acknowledging nod is read in the noticing meaning, so a writer who means thankfulness should choose grateful or appreciative instead.

acknowledging is a form of acknowledge

acknowledge, verb: To admit knowledge of something, to recognize it as a fact or truth, or to declare belief in it. Full entry

Forms: acknowledgeacknowledges he/she/itacknowledging -ing formacknowledged past tense, past participle
Spelling: acknowledge → acknowledging: drop the e, add -ing

Use it in a sentence

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Origin

Formed from the verb "acknowledge" combined with the suffix "-ing".