Admit

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ədˈmɪt/

Definitions

1. to acknowledge or confess something as true or valid, or to allow entry into a place
2. To accept or agree that something is true or has happened ; to permit someone to enter a place or institution
3. To openly recognize or concede a fact or truth ; to grant admission or authorization to come in

Etymology: The verb "admit" carries a surprisingly physical picture underneath its modern sense of confessing. In Latin, "admittere" meant "to send to" or, more concretely, to let something in: to open a gate, a door or an inlet and allow passage. The compound is built from "ad-", "to", and "mittere", "to send", the same root that gives us "mission" and "transmit". So at its core the word is about letting someone or something cross a threshold. Medieval French inherited that sense of admission, and Middle English borrowed the verb from Old French "admettre" and "amettre". Early English uses kept the doorway idea: to admit someone to a building, an office or a religious order. The move from entrance to assent happened because letting an idea into your mind is a kind of admission too. To admit a fact is to let it in as true, which is where the modern meaning of accepting something as true, and the sense of confessing a fault, grew from the older one of permitting passage.

Synonyms: acknowledge, accept, confess, grant, allow

Antonyms: deny, reject, refuse, disallow, exclude