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Glite Dictionary
✅ To approve officially 🏷️ To recognize origin 🎖️ To give credentials
to accredit

to accredit

6.8
To give a diplomat official papers to represent a country
  • verb
  • /əˈkrɛdɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : acreditar
  • The government decided to accredit the new ambassador after reviewing his credentials.

Examples

  • If a sending country is concerned about poor standards in a particular receiving state, it could refuse to accredit agencies seeking to send children to that state.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Similarly, a receiving state could refuse to accredit agencies arranging adoptions from a particular sending state.

    Academic text (2001)

  • In order for the organization to operate in the country, it must accredit its representatives officially.

  • The committee met to accredit the delegates who would represent us at the international conference.

How Official

to authorize
489 4.4
commission
  • Formal
132 4.9
to accredit
  • Formal
6.8
to recognize
  • Formal
377 1.4
to acknowledge
367 3.8

Surface Forms

accredit infinitive
accredited past
accredited past participle
accrediting present participle
accredits third person singular

Morphology

accredit = credit (transparent) = ac + credit

The diplomatic sense (giving credentials) is a specialized extension of 'to give credit/recognition', so the composition remains transparent.

Etymology

Accredit comes from the Latin parts ad- ('to') and credere ('believe'), the same root as credit. So to accredit an ambassador is to give them official 'credentials' that show they are trusted to represent their country.