commend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to present, mention, or praise as worthy of confidence, notice, kindness, etc.; recommend.
to commend a friend to another;
to commend an applicant for employment.
- Antonyms:
- censure
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to entrust; give in charge; deliver with confidence.
I commend my child to your care.
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to cite or name with approval or special praise.
to commend a soldier for bravery.
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Feudal Law. to place (oneself or one's land) under another's protection so as to become his vassal.
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Archaic. to recommend (a person) to the kind remembrance of another.
verb
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to present or represent as being worthy of regard, confidence, kindness, etc; recommend
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to give in charge; entrust
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to express a good opinion of; praise
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to give the regards of
commend me to your aunt
Synonym Usage
See approve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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commendablyadverb
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commendableadjective
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commendablenessnoun
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overcommendverb (used with object)
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commendinglyadverb
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commendernoun
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commendatoryadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have commendedperfect
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has commendedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been commendingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been commendingperfect progressive
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am commendingprogressive 1st person singular
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are commendingprogressive
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is commendingprogressive 3rd person singular
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commendssingular 3rd person
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commendingparticiple
Past
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had commendedperfect
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were commendingprogressive plural
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had been commendingperfect progressive
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was commendingprogressive singular
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commendedsimple
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commendedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of commend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English commenden, from Latin commendāre, equivalent to com- com- + -mendāre, combining form of mandāre; see mandate
Explanation
Have you ever shouted "Bravo!" at the end of a play or cooed "Good boy!" to the dog when he followed a command? Then you know how to commend someone — in other words, to express approval aloud. The most common meaning of commend is "to compliment." You commend someone when you tell them "Well done!" You can even say "I commend you on your hard work." Back in the days of Charles Dickens, commend often meant to put (someone or something) in the hands of someone else for safekeeping. Case in point: David Copperfield was out of luck when his cruel stepdad commended him to the equally cruel schoolmaster Mr. Creakle at Salem house.
Vocabulary lists containing commend
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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Much Ado About Nothing
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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.
“The fact that you cannot come out of hunting feeling unambiguously good about it,” Mr. Pollan once wrote in an essay, “is perhaps what should commend the practice” to meat eaters.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
“We commend the EPA for their commitment to reevaluating these policies.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
Against a backdrop of war in the Middle East and Ukraine, the King will commend the unifying force of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
"We were 40-50 runs short. Must commend the guys in the bottom half for giving us a chance."
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
“Sirs, while I would liefer commend the nobility of restraint, here must I endorse rather the vigor of lively opposition, lest, peradventure, we find that inaction is in itself the occasion of profligacy.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
