Revised as of
17 Oct 2022
It’s a tricky word confusion — acclimate vs accommodate, as they are synonyms and both are about adapting.
Acclimate is all about the new, becoming comfortable or used to a new situation.
Accommodate expands to include providing for, doing a kindness, supply, making adjustments or allowances for, bringing harmony, or making consistent or suitable.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Acclimate | Accommodate |
|---|---|
Climbing Through the Yellow Band, 22 May 2007, Mt. Everest, by Lloyd Smith courtesy of Brian-Everest photos is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — When climbing such high mountains, one must stop to acclimate to the lack of oxygen. |
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ADA Elevators, 9 May 2014, 71st Ave, Forest Hills, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, by Patrick Cashin is courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York, via Wikimedia Commons. — Looks like this elevator can accommodate at least six people. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, intransitive & transitive
Third person present verb: acclimates |
Verb, intransitive & transitive
Third person present verb: accommodates |
| Verb, intransitive: [Mainly North American] Become accustomed to a new climate or to new conditions
Verb, transitive:
|
Verb, intransitive: [accommodate to] Adapt to To become adjusted or adapted To become reconciled
Verb, transitive: Fit in with the wishes or needs of To do a kindness or a favor to
To provide suitably
To lend money to To provide with a room and sometimes with food To have or make room for To make suitable or consistent
To bring into harmony or make adjustments or allowances for |
| Examples: | |
| Verb, intransitive: It will take a few days to get acclimated to the altitude. This should help new students acclimate to college life. He tells of getting acclimated to Saudi Arabia and the life of an advisor. He has not yet acclimated to when our days and nights are. “Of concern here were the behavioral and physiological adjustments necessary to accommodate growth and reproductive development when faced with the need to forage for different lengths of time at different temperatures” (Perrigo). Verb, transitive: “He was out here to acclimate himself to the cold, and the mealy scent of the everlasting ice was strong.” – S.M. Stirling, Rising Storm |
Verb, intransitive: They’re accustomed to making consumers accommodate to the realities of today’s marketplace. The farmhouse has been redone to accommodate both good English antiques and luxe 20th-century comforts without sacrificing any of its rough-hewn charm (Prose). Investors quickly accommodated themselves to the new market conditions. They accommodated themselves to the warmer climate. Verb, transitive: Any language must accommodate new concepts. We can always accommodate a friend by helping him move to a new apartment. The officials were accommodated with seats toward the front of the room. Can you accommodate him, or are you short of cash? We can furnish you with accommodations while you look for an apartment. Will this elevator accommodate 10 people? It’s best to accommodate oneself to circumstances. Can we accommodate their differences? We can definitely accommodate your busy schedule. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: acclimatable, unacclimated Noun: acclimating, acclimation Verb: acclimatise [British], acclimatize, reacclimate |
Adjective: accommodable, accommodative nonaccommodable Noun: accommodativeness, accommodator Verb: preaccommodate, reaccommodate |
| History of the Word: | |
| Late 18th century, from the French acclimater, from a-, from the Latin ad (to, at) + climat (climate). | Mid-16th century, from the Latin accommodat- meaning made fitting, which is from the verb accommodare, from ad- (to) + commodus (fitting). |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Acclimate versus Accommodate
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: accommodate
Lexico.com: acclimate, accommodate
Merriam-Webster: accommodate
Perrigo, G and FH Bronson. “Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Female House Mice to Foraging Variation.” National Library of Medicine. March 1985. Web. 4 Nov 2020. 34(3):437-40. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(85)90208-2. <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4011725/>.
Prose, Francine. Travel & Leisure. December 1994.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Diver Ascending is under the CC0 license, via Pxhere.
