Library / English Dictionary

ADMIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: admitted    , admitting   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of

Example:

She acknowledged that she might have forgotten

Synonyms:

acknowledge; admit

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "admit" is one way to...):

adjudge; declare; hold (declare to be)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "admit"):

attorn (acknowledge a new land owner as one's landlord)

write off (concede the loss or worthlessness of something or somebody)

make no bones about (acknowledge freely and openly)

sustain (admit as valid)

concede; confess; profess (admit (to a wrongdoing))

confess (confess to God in the presence of a priest, as in the Catholic faith)

confess; fink; squeal (confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure)

avouch; avow (admit openly and bluntly; make no bones about)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Antonym:

deny (declare untrue; contradict)

Derivation:

admission (an acknowledgment of the truth of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Admit into a group or community

Example:

We'll have to vote on whether or not to admit a new member

Synonyms:

accept; admit; take; take on

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "admit" is one way to...):

accept; have; take (receive willingly something given or offered)

Verb group:

admit; include; let in (allow participation in or the right to be part of; permit to exercise the rights, functions, and responsibilities of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "admit"):

profess (receive into a religious order or congregation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot admit Sue

Sense 3

Meaning:

Allow participation in or the right to be part of; permit to exercise the rights, functions, and responsibilities of

Example:

She was admitted to the New Jersey Bar

Synonyms:

admit; include; let in

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "admit" is one way to...):

allow; countenance; let; permit (consent to, give permission)

Verb group:

accept; admit; take; take on (admit into a group or community)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "admit"):

induct; initiate (accept people into an exclusive society or group, usually with some rite)

readmit (admit again or anew)

involve (engage as a participant)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Antonym:

exclude (prevent from entering; shut out)

Derivation:

admittance (the right to enter)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Allow to enter; grant entry to

Example:

This pipe admits air

Synonyms:

admit; allow in; intromit; let in

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "admit" is one way to...):

allow; countenance; let; permit (consent to, give permission)

Verb group:

admit (serve as a means of entrance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "admit"):

repatriate (admit back into the country)

readmit (admit anew)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Antonym:

reject (refuse entrance or membership)

Derivation:

admission (the act of admitting someone to enter)

admission (the fee charged for admission)

admittable; admittible (deserving to be allowed to enter)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Serve as a means of entrance

Example:

This ticket will admit one adult to the show

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "admit" is one way to...):

do; serve (spend time in prison or in a labor camp)

Verb group:

admit; allow in; intromit; let in (allow to enter; grant entry to)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

admission (the fee charged for admission)

admittable; admittible (deserving to be allowed to enter)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Have room for; hold without crowding

Example:

The auditorium can't hold more than 500 people

Synonyms:

accommodate; admit; hold

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Verb group:

contain; hold; take (be capable of holding or containing)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "admit"):

sleep (be able to accommodate for sleeping)

house (contain or cover)

seat (be able to seat)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

admittible (deserving to be allowed to enter)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Give access or entrance to

Example:

The French doors admit onto the yard

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Sense 8

Meaning:

Afford possibility

Example:

This short story allows of several different interpretations

Synonyms:

admit; allow

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Verb group:

allow; allow for; leave; provide (make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

admissive (characterized by or allowing admission)

Credits

 Context examples: 

At the same time you must admit that the occasion of a lady’s marriage is a very suitable time for her friends and relatives to make some little effort upon her behalf.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Neither you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you admitted him into your family circle.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He denied sleep, but admitted to having "dozed" for a while.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“I’ll admit I don’t like defeat any more than you do, or any more than I like the idea of killing such pretty, inoffensive creatures.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Then the water was too muddy to admit of his seeing the fish, and he was compelled to wait until the sediment had settled.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Even Ben Gunn himself has admitted that she was “queer to handle till you knew her way.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

She had never been admitted before to be seriously ill.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I am surrounded by mountains of ice which admit of no escape and threaten every moment to crush my vessel.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“I am an old friend of Dr. Jekyll’s—Mr. Utterson of Gaunt Street—you must have heard of my name; and meeting you so conveniently, I thought you might admit me.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But I will tell you the whole queer business, and when I have done so you will admit, I am sure, that there has been enough to excuse me.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)