Admitir

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To acknowledge or accept the truth or existence of something ; to allow entry or access to a place or group ; to confess or concede responsibility or fault
2. To recognize or concede a fact or condition ; to grant permission for someone to enter or join ; to openly declare or acknowledge guilt or error
3. To accept or agree that something is true ; to permit entry into a space or institution ; to admit or confess one's involvement or mistake

Etymology: The Latin verb "admittere" was built from "ad" (toward) and "mittere" (to send or let go), so its first sense was physical: to send something in, or to let someone pass through a gate. Spanish keeps that sense when it describes admitting visitors to a building or new members to a group. The same root "mittere" gives English "missile," "mission," and "message," all of which share the idea of sending something onward. The move to abstract meanings happened within Latin itself. Letting a claim or argument "in" means accepting it, so the verb came to mean granting that something is true, and eventually conceding a fault. Opening a door and confessing a mistake seem far apart, but both involve yielding something that was being held back.

Synonyms: admit, accept, confess, acknowledge, allow

Antonyms: deny, reject, refuse, disallow, exclude