awardee
LowFormal, Official, Administrative
Definition
Meaning
A person who receives or is given an award, prize, grant, or honour.
More broadly, the recipient of any official conferral of something positive, such as a title, funding, or legal judgment. In legal contexts, can refer to the party to whom damages or a settlement are awarded.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Formed by adding the suffix '-ee' (indicating the recipient of an action) to the verb 'award'. Unlike some '-ee' words (e.g., 'employee'), 'awardee' does not imply an ongoing role or status, but a specific instance of receiving. It is often used in passive bureaucratic or ceremonial contexts.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning. The term is equally formal and used in similar contexts in both varieties.
Connotations
Slightly bureaucratic, official, or corporate. Implies a formal selection process.
Frequency
Rare in casual speech in both varieties. Used primarily in official documents, press releases, and formal announcements.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
awardee of [award/grant]awardee for [achievement/field]awardee from [organisation]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None specific to this word.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in HR for employee recognition programmes: 'The awardee will receive a bonus.'
Academic
Common in descriptions of research grants, scholarships, and prizes: 'The awardee must submit a progress report.'
Everyday
Very rare; more likely to say 'the person who got the award' or 'the winner'.
Technical
Used in legal or formal grant administration contexts to denote the receiving party in a contract.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The committee will award the prize next week.
- She was awarded an OBE for her services to music.
American English
- The foundation will award the grant in December.
- He was awarded the Medal of Honor.
adverb
British English
- The team performed award-worthily. (Very rare/unnatural)
- She sang award-winnningly. (Unnatural)
American English
- He painted award-worthily. (Very rare/unnatural)
- The software runs award-winnningly. (Unnatural)
adjective
British English
- The award-winning film is now streaming.
- She submitted her award-winning recipe.
American English
- The award-winning novel became a bestseller.
- He works for an award-winning design firm.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- She is the awardee. She got a prize.
- The awardee is very happy.
- The young scientist was the awardee of a prestigious scholarship.
- All awardees must attend the ceremony.
- The grant awardee is required to publish their findings within two years.
- As this year's principal awardee, she gave a short speech of thanks.
- The Nobel Prize awardees gathered in Stockholm for the week of festivities.
- The legal settlement named the plaintiffs as the sole awardees of the damages.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'AWARD' + the two 'E's in 'rEcEivEr'. An awardEE is the one who rEcEives the award.
Conceptual Metaphor
ACHIEVEMENT IS A POSSESSION (The awardee 'holds' or 'takes possession' of the award).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'лауреат' (laureate), which is a more prestigious subset of awardees. An awardee can be for any prize, while a laureate often implies a major artistic or academic prize.
- Avoid direct calque from constructions like 'награжденный человек'. 'Awardee' is a noun, not a participle.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing 'awardee' (receiver) with 'awarder' or 'awarding body' (giver).
- Using it in casual conversation where 'winner' is more natural.
- Misspelling as 'awardie'.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the BEST definition of 'awardee'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Very similar, but 'awardee' is more formal and bureaucratic. 'Winner' implies competition, while 'awardee' can simply be the recipient of a grant or honour without a contest.
No, the '-ee' suffix specifically denotes a person (or sometimes an animal) who is the recipient of an action. An organisation receiving an award would be an 'award recipient'.
The closest direct opposite is 'awarder' or 'donor', meaning the person or body that gives the award. In a competitive context, the other contestants are not antonyms but simply 'non-awardees' or 'unsuccessful candidates'.
It is grammatically correct but sounds very formal and self-important in casual speech. In most everyday situations, it's more natural to say "I won an award" or "I was given a grant."
Explore