congratulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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congratulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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congratulated,
past participle, past
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congratulating
present participle
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to express pleasure to (a person), as on a happy occasion.
They congratulated him on his marriage.
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Archaic. to express sympathetic joy or satisfaction at (an event).
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Obsolete. to salute.
verb
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(usually foll by on) to communicate pleasure, approval, or praise to (a person or persons); compliment
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(often foll by on) to consider (oneself) clever or fortunate (as a result of)
she congratulated herself on her tact
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obsolete to greet
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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congratulationnoun
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congratulatornoun
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precongratulateverb (used with object)
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congratulatoryadjective
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uncongratulatedadjective
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uncongratulatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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congratulatesimple
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congratulatessimple
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have congratulatedperfect
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has congratulatedperfect
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am congratulatingprogressive
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are congratulatingprogressive
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is congratulatingprogressive
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have been congratulatingperfect progressive
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has been congratulatingperfect progressive
Past
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congratulatedsimple
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had congratulatedperfect
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was congratulatingprogressive
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were congratulatingprogressive
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had been congratulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of congratulate
1540–50; < Latin congrātulātus, past participle of congrātulārī. See congratulant, -ate 1
Explanation
When you congratulate someone, you give that person praise — or maybe even a party to congratulate him or her on a job well done. The word congratulate is linked to the Latin word congratulari, meaning “wish joy.” When you congratulate someone, you wish him or her joy, usually to celebrate an accomplishment or good fortune. Your joy can take the form of verbal praise (“Well done!”), a letter or card offering good wishes, a rowdy high five, or even a big chocolate cake. You can also congratulate yourself for reaching a long-time goal.
Vocabulary lists containing congratulate
"Raymond's Run"
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"A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," Vocabulary from the poem
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Week 1: Cultural Exchange
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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.
See Examples For:
When they upset the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago, Johnson took to his keyboard to congratulate the team, tweeting a photo of himself in a luxury box.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
"I congratulate Dr. Schmidt and his team for their exceptional achievement and for engaging students as true partners in research that delivers global impact."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
Then it held a vote to congratulate itself on noticing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Once it was over, Sabalenka could only congratulate her at the net—before retreating to her chair and smashing her racket to pieces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Any message we receive from them is likely to begin "Dear Sire," and congratulate us on the handsomeness of our horses and our mastery of whale oil.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
That he, upon getting punched in the crotch by Johnny Cage, congratulates the latter on having stellar technique makes about as much sense as anything else on offer here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
"Spain congratulates the new president of Honduras and expresses its full willingness to continue working with the people and government of Honduras," the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Dec. 25, 2025
A nurse congratulates the family and hands over an administrative packet.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2025
It added: "The World Conker Championships therefore congratulates King Conker on his victory after 47 years of play."
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2024
When we get there, he congratulates us on a good campaign and our near victory.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
"I congratulated him on his victory. We discussed the ways that we would work together," Carney told reporters in Ottawa.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
OpenAI on Tuesday congratulated the "concurrent work" of Buckmaster and Alpöge, calling it "remarkable."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Carney congratulated the winning candidates in a post on X, saying that voters had "placed their trust" in the government "at this consequential time for Canada."
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated negotiators from both countries this week for having made “significant progress” in the trade talks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
You offered tassali, condolences, for the death of a parent, congratulated the birth of children, and shook your head mournfully when the conversation turned to Afghanistan and the Roussis—which it inevitably did.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
After congratulating the crew on completing thousands of combat missions with “zero casualties, zero flight mishaps, and zero working toilets,” Jost’s Hegseth offered an update on developments back home.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Jolin said she texted Moore three times in 2025 between September and December, two congratulating him on wins and one unrelated to games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The cost of phone fatigue was not worth the short-term dopamine hit of my bird congratulating me on taking three deep breaths today.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
That it was live television and just this pageantry of people congratulating themselves, congratulating each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Soon, I covered up with her blanket and pretended to snore, congratulating myself the whole time.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
