Acknowledge

How it is used

Strong academic writing acknowledges limitations and counterarguments before responding to them: 'While it must be acknowledged that ..., ...'. Authors also acknowledge funding and help in the acknowledgments section, and every borrowed idea must be acknowledged through citation.

Example sentences

1. We acknowledge that self-reported data may be affected by social desirability.

2. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the university's research fund.

Common collocations

• acknowledge a limitation
• it must be acknowledged that
• acknowledge the support of
• widely acknowledged

Related terms

• limitationA weakness or restriction in a study's design, sample or methods that affects how far its findings can be generalized or trusted.
• counterargumentAn argument against your own position, which a writer presents fairly and then answers or weakens to make the main argument stronger.
• acknowledgmentsA short section of a thesis, book or article in which the author thanks people and institutions that helped with or funded the work.
• hedgingUsing cautious language, such as may, might, appear to or suggest, so that a claim is only as strong as the evidence allows.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• acknowledge · Customer Service

More terms: Argument and Hedging

• argument
• evidence
• argue
• claim
• suggest
• to some extent
• stance
• it could be argued that
• arguably
• tentative
• plausible
• tend to