Admits

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ədˈmɪts/

Definitions

1. Allows someone or something to enter a place or participate in an activity ; confesses to the truth of something or acknowledges a fact
2. Grants permission for entrance or inclusion ; acknowledges or agrees to the truth of a statement, often reluctantly
3. Permits access or entry into a space, group, or event ; openly states something is true, especially something previously denied or hidden

Etymology: "Admits" is simply the third-person singular present form of "admit," so the history belongs to the verb. The root image is physical: Latin "admittere" combined "ad-" (to) with "mittere" (to send), so its literal sense was "to send to," and it came to mean "to allow entrance or inlet," as when a door lets someone in. That spatial sense of letting something pass into a space is the earliest core of the word. The verb reached English in Middle English as "admitten" or "amitten," borrowed from Old French "admettre" or "amettre," which carried the same Latin meaning into the language. From the idea of being allowed through a threshold, the sense of granting entry to a place or a membership grew naturally, and from there the extension to letting a claim into the mind as true. To admit something is, in effect, to let a fact through the gate of your acceptance, which is why the word can carry the reluctance of grudging agreement.

Synonyms: confesses, acknowledges, concedes, grants, allows

Antonyms: denies, rejects, disallows