Acclamation vs. acclaim as nouns: When to use one or the other?

Back when life was simpler, the words “acclamation” and “acclaim” behaved within precise heterogeneous bounds. The first acted publicly as a noun and the second as a verb. I was naive, oblivious to “acclaim’s” notoriously promiscuous life. The bliss continued until one day I hovered over a gawky line in Wikipedia.

“It brought acclaim for many Aboriginal artists.”

Reputable dictionary entries about “acclaim,” assign a slot at the bottom of the page to warn you that, indeed, the word may also crossdress as a noun. But my primitive non-Chomskian logic found it hard to agree. How do you bring “acclaim” and not “acclamation” to Aboriginal artists? I felt the word “acclaim” was too verb-like. So, I kept rewriting the line in my mind to say, “brought acclamation.” But, this combination yielded surprisingly few results in Google.

I had to switch to “praise,” one of “acclaim’s” relative words, to make sense. The grammar behind “brought praise” is native to the modern religious language of revivalism (Ngram). Though to me it lacked elegance when replaced with “acclaim,” I had to admit that the phrase was grammatically sound. The sources I consulted, however, offered limited user instructions. So, I still wonder.

If as nouns they may behave synonymously, when should we prefer to use “acclaim” over “acclamation”?

I- Questions with some similarities:

1- Kudos?

2- Notoriety

II- Outside attempts to address the issue:

1- Differences between acclaim and acclamation?

2- Acclaim and credit

Solution 1:

ACCLAMATION - noun 1 : a loud eager expression of approval, praise, or assent
2 : an overwhelming affirmative vote by cheers, shouts, or applause rather than by ballot ^{Merriam-Webster}

Definitions of acclamation:

An acclamation, in its most common sense, is a form of election that does not use a ballot. "Acclamation" can also signify a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval in certain social contexts in ancient Rome. ^Wikipedia

An acclamation was formerly one of the methods of papal election. ^Wikipedia

A shout of approbation, favor, or assent; eager expression of approval; loud applause; The process of electing a person to a post in the absence of other nominees; : A representation, in sculpture or on medals, of people expressing joy; Without opposition in an election. ^Wiktionary

Acclamatory - Pertaining to, or expressing approval by, acclamation. ^Wiktionary

ACCLAIM (n & v.) - transitive verb 1 : applaud, praise, 2 : to declare by acclamation - intransitive verb : to shout praise or applause - noun 1 : the act of acclaiming, 2 : praise, applause. eg. The book received great acclaim. ^{!source not verified}

To answer your question (what is the difference & when do we use them) I'd say acclaim is far more commonly used than acclamation. But if you must use acclamation, to me it sounds better in the passive tense, eg: The acclamation received by the author was overwhelming vs. The author received overwhelming acclaim.