celebrated
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See famous.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of celebrated
Explanation
If something is celebrated, it's famous. Your town's celebrated restaurant — the one everybody knows and talks about — might be a modest barbecue joint. A celebrated writer is an important, well-known one, like Ernest Hemingway or Maya Angelou. In your family, a celebrated figure might be the cousin who visits every summer and tells the best stories. As long as someone is talked about and revered by a group of people, they're celebrated. This adjective comes from the verb celebrate and its Latin root celebrare, "to sing praises of."
Vocabulary lists containing celebrated
"Slam: Performance Poetry Lives On" and "Euphoria"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Famous
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When President Biden turned 80 in office, he celebrated quietly with his family and hoped nobody else would notice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
She celebrated with a clenched fist after a ferocious smash secured a break for a 4-1 lead.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
In song and literature, the route is celebrated as an east-to-west journey.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
"Ilaiyaraaja's arrival was a watershed moment. It was an intervention by a person from an entirely different social and aesthetic background who had imbued a distinct aural soundscape," says TM Krishna, a celebrated Carnatic musician.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Shackleton celebrated the occasion by issuing an extra round of hot Virol, a powdered drink mix, to all hands.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.