Basic Details
Word: Recognise
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To know someone or something because you have seen, heard or met them before. It can also mean to accept or praise something officially.
Synonyms: identify, know, spot, acknowledge
Antonyms: overlook, ignore
Word origin: From Latin recognoscere, to know again.
How to Spell Recognise
Syllables: rec - og - nise
Tricky part: The g is easy to lose, because in quick speech the word sounds like reck-a-nise. There is also no extra o after the g.
Watch out for: reconise, recogonise, recognice
Memory tip: A cog is a small toothed wheel. Picture the cogs of your memory turning when you see a familiar face: re-COG-nise.
Usage Examples
Example 1: I didn't recognise Kabir with his new glasses and short hair.
Example 2: Can you recognise a cobra just from the shape of its hood?
Example 3: The school was recognised by the state board in 1998.
Fun Fact
Newborn babies can recognise their mother's voice within days of birth, because they have already heard it from inside the womb.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. recognise 2. embarass 3. accomodate 4. aquaintance
a) to know someone or something you have met before
b) to provide room or space for someone
c) a person you know slightly
d) to make someone feel awkward or ashamed
Show answer
a) to know someone or something you have met before. Embarrass and accommodate each need two pairs of double letters, and acquaintance needs a c before the q.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
reccognise
a) c
b) o
c) n
d) g
Show answer
a) c. The word opens with re and then cog, so there is room for only one c.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Would you snigocree your old school if you visited it after twenty years?
a) reconcile
b) resonance
c) recognise
d) recognition
Show answer
c) recognise. Nine letters with a g and no t: that is recognise, not recognition or reconcile.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. You recognise a song when you ____.
a) hear it for the very first time
b) make it up yourself
c) cannot hear it at all
d) know it from hearing it before
Show answer
d) know it from hearing it before
2. The government recognised her work with an award. Here recognised means ____.
a) quietly forgot
b) officially praised
c) secretly copied
d) carefully hid
Show answer
b) officially praised
