The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Receive \Re*ceive"\ (r[-e]*s[=e]v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Received (r[-e]*s[=e]vd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Receiving.]
   [OF. receveir, recevoir, F. recevoir, fr. L. recipere; pref.
   re- re- + capere to take, seize. See Capable, Heave, and
   cf. Receipt, Reception, Recipe.]
   1. To take, as something that is offered, given, committed,
      sent, paid, or the like; to accept; as, to receive money
      offered in payment of a debt; to receive a gift, a
      message, or a letter.
      [1913 Webster]

            Receyven all in gree that God us sent. --Chaucer.
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   2. Hence: To gain the knowledge of; to take into the mind by
      assent to; to give admission to; to accept, as an opinion,
      notion, etc.; to embrace.
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            Our hearts receive your warnings.     --Shak.
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            The idea of solidity we receive by our touch.
                                                  --Locke.
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   3. To allow, as a custom, tradition, or the like; to give
      credence or acceptance to.
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            Many other things there be which they have received
            to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots. --Mark
                                                  vii. 4.
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   4. To give admittance to; to permit to enter, as into one's
      house, presence, company, and the like; as, to receive a
      lodger, visitor, ambassador, messenger, etc.
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            They kindled a fire, and received us every one.
                                                  --Acts xxviii.
                                                  2.
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   5. To admit; to take in; to hold; to contain; to have
      capacity for; to be able to take in.
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            The brazen altar that was before the Lord was too
            little to receive the burnt offerings. --1 Kings
                                                  viii. 64.
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   6. To be affected by something; to suffer; to be subjected
      to; as, to receive pleasure or pain; to receive a wound or
      a blow; to receive damage.
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            Against his will he can receive no harm. --Milton.
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   7. To take from a thief, as goods known to be stolen.
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   8. (Lawn Tennis) To bat back (the ball) when served.
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   Receiving ship, one on board of which newly recruited
      sailors are received, and kept till drafted for service.
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   Syn: To accept; take; allow; hold; retain; admit.

   Usage: Receive, Accept. To receive describes simply the
          act of taking. To accept denotes the taking with
          approval, or for the purposes for which a thing is
          offered. Thus, we receive a letter when it comes to
          hand; we receive news when it reaches us; we accept a
          present when it is offered; we accept an invitation to
          dine with a friend.
          [1913 Webster]

                Who, if we knew
                What we receive, would either not accept
                Life offered, or soon beg to lay it down.
                                                  --Milton.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Receive \Re*ceive"\ (r[-e]*s[=e]v"), v. i.
   1. To receive visitors; to be at home to receive calls; as,
      she receives on Tuesdays.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Lawn Tennis) To return, or bat back, the ball when
      served; as, it is your turn to receive.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

receive
    v 1: get something; come into possession of; "receive payment";
         "receive a gift"; "receive letters from the front" [syn:
         receive, have]
    2: receive a specified treatment (abstract); "These aspects of
       civilization do not find expression or receive an
       interpretation"; "His movie received a good review"; "I got
       nothing but trouble for my good intentions" [syn: receive,
       get, find, obtain, incur]
    3: register (perceptual input); "pick up a signal" [syn: pick
       up, receive]
    4: go through (mental or physical states or experiences); "get
       an idea"; "experience vertigo"; "get nauseous"; "receive
       injuries"; "have a feeling" [syn: experience, receive,
       have, get]
    5: express willingness to have in one's home or environs; "The
       community warmly received the refugees" [syn: receive,
       take in, invite]
    6: accept as true or valid; "He received Christ"
    7: bid welcome to; greet upon arrival [syn: welcome,
       receive] [ant: say farewell]
    8: convert into sounds or pictures; "receive the incoming radio
       signals"
    9: experience as a reaction; "My proposal met with much
       opposition" [syn: meet, encounter, receive]
    10: have or give a reception; "The lady is receiving Sunday
        morning"
    11: receive as a retribution or punishment; "He got 5 years in
        prison" [syn: get, receive]
    12: partake of the Holy Eucharist sacrament
    13: regard favorably or with disapproval; "Her new collection of
        poems was not well received"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

173 Moby Thesaurus words for "receive":
   abide by, accede, accept, accept for gospel, accept implicitly,
   acclaim, acknowledge receipt of, acquiesce, acquiesce in, acquire,
   admit, agree, agree to, agree with, applaud, ascertain, assent,
   assimilate, assume, be certain, be paid, be subjected to, be told,
   bear, believe, believe without reservation, buy, catch up, cheer,
   claim, clap hands on, clasp, claw, clear, clench, clinch, clutch,
   collect, come by, come in for, come into, complete, comply,
   comprehend, comprise, consent, contain, count in, cover, credit,
   derive, derive from, drag down, drain off, draw, draw from,
   draw off, earn, embody, embrace, encircle, enclose, encompass,
   endure, envisage, experience, fill, fill in, fill out, find out,
   gain, gather, get, get hold of, give an entree, give faith to,
   give the nod, glom on to, grab, grab hold of, grapple, grasp,
   greet, grip, gripe, gross, hail, have, have coming in, hear, hold,
   hold with, home on, hug, identify, immit, in toto, include,
   incorporate, inherit, intromit, lay hands on, lay hold of, learn,
   let in, loot, make, map, mark paid, meet, meet with, nail, net,
   nip, nip up, nod, nod assent, number among, obtain, occupy, palm,
   partake, pick up, pillage, pinpoint, pocket, possess, profit,
   pull down, put faith in, receipt, reckon among, reckon in,
   reckon with, scan, secure, seize, set store by, snap up, snatch,
   spot, steal, subscribe to, suffer, sustain, swallow, sweep, take,
   take by assault, take by storm, take for granted, take hold of,
   take in, take into account, take into consideration,
   take kindly to, take on, take on faith, take on trust, take over,
   take possession, take stock in, take up, throw open to, trigger,
   trust, tune in, undergo, vote for, welcome, whip up, yes,
   yield assent