'Recognition' definitions:

The state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged; "the partners were delighted with the recognition of their work"; "she seems to avoid much in the way of recognition or acknowledgement of feminist work prior to her own" [syn: recognition, acknowledgment, acknowledgement]

The process of recognizing something or someone by remembering; "a politician whose recall of names was as remarkable as his recognition of faces"; "experimental psychologists measure the elapsed time from the onset of the stimulus to its recognition by the observer" [syn: recognition, identification]

Approval; "give her recognition for trying"; "he was given credit for his work"; "give her credit for trying" [syn: recognition, credit]

Coming to understand something clearly and distinctly; "a growing realization of the risk involved"; "a sudden recognition of the problem he faced"; "increasing recognition that diabetes frequently coexists with other chronic diseases" [syn: realization, realisation, recognition]

(biology) the ability of one molecule to attach to another molecule that has a complementary shape; "molecular recognition drives all of biology, for instance, hormone and receptor or antibody-antigen interactions or the organization of molecules into larger biologically active entities"

The explicit and formal acknowledgement of a government or of the national independence of a country; "territorial disputes were resolved in Guatemala's recognition of Belize in 1991"

An acceptance (as of a claim) as true and valid; "the recognition of the Rio Grande as a boundary between Mexico and the United States"

Designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body; "he was unable to make his motion because he couldn't get recognition by the chairman"