recommend
Americanverb (used with object)
-
recommends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recommended,
past participle, past
-
recommending
present participle
-
to present as worthy of confidence, acceptance, use, etc.; commend; mention favorably.
to recommend an applicant for a job; to recommend a book.
- Antonyms:
- condemn
-
to represent or urge as advisable or expedient.
to recommend caution.
-
to advise, as an alternative; suggest (a choice, course of action, etc.) as appropriate, beneficial, or the like.
He recommended the blue-plate special. The doctor recommended special exercises for her.
- Synonyms:
- counsel
-
to make desirable or attractive.
a plan that has very little to recommend it.
verb (used without object)
-
recommends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recommended,
past participle, past
-
recommending
present participle
noun
verb
-
(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to advise as the best course or choice; counsel
to recommend prudence
-
to praise or commend
to recommend a new book
-
to make attractive or advisable
the trip has little to recommend it
-
archaic to entrust (a person or thing) to someone else's care; commend
Usage
Spelling tips for recommend The word recommend is hard to spell because it is tricky to know whether the c, the m, and/or the n is doubled. How to spell recommend: The easiest way to remember how to spell recommend is to break it into three parts: re - com - mend. You can keep these three sections in mind with the sentence: "I recommend that you rely commonly on mending."
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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recommendernoun
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prerecommendverb (used with object)
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recommendableadjective
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unrecommendableadjective
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unrecommendedadjective
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well-recommendedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recommendsimple
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recommendssimple
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have recommendedperfect
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has recommendedperfect
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am recommendingprogressive
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are recommendingprogressive
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is recommendingprogressive
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have been recommendingperfect progressive
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has been recommendingperfect progressive
Past
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recommendedsimple
-
had recommendedperfect
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was recommendingprogressive
-
were recommendingprogressive
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had been recommendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recommend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English recommenden, from Medieval Latin recommendāre; equivalent to re- + commend
Explanation
If you recommend a person or thing is to vouch for them. Recommend can also be to advise. If your doctor recommended an exercise program to you that's changed your life, you might recommend your doctor to your friends. Recommend is connected to the verb commend "to praise." They are both spelled with one c and two m's, reflecting the prefixes re- and com-. These verbs overlap in some uses: you can recommend or commend an applicant for employment. But commend is used for special or public praise: "He was commended for bravery."
Vocabulary lists containing recommend
Excerpt from "Bad Boy"
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"the insanity of selling junk food"
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Encourage
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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:
"I would say for any new-build buyer, 100% no doubt, I recommend a snagger," Georgina said.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Experts recommend keeping your credit-utilization ratio below 30%.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
He asks Tony Ressler, the principal owner of basketball’s Atlanta Hawks, whether he would recommend sports ownership to his friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
What to avoid: Lancaster does not recommend tree thinning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
“I don’t recommend him, observe; because I never recommend anybody. The gentleman I speak of is one Mr. Matthew Pocket.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Tribole recommends looking for patterns rather than pathologizing a single episode.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Santa Monica arborist Alison Lancaster recommends hiring a licensed consulting arborist for an independent evaluation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
She also recommends keeping dried herbs, spices and salt available as, she says, tinned food can be slightly bland.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
KKR recommends infrastructure, asset-based finance, opportunistic credit and operational improvement-driven buyouts.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Vincent tells Theo to give Bague his best if he sees him, and he recommends two other paintings Bague might like: a vineyard and a night sky.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
He added, “Neither service should replace recommended cancer screening or attention to blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes risk, exercise and smoking.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
When I landed my first TV audition, my agent recommended his favorite acting coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Public Health Wales issued a statement, external in response to calls from residents and politicians - including the Welsh Affairs Select Committee of MPs - saying a programme of blood testing was "not recommended".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
For the aggressive traders among you, below are the 20 highest-beta stocks among those recommended by at least two of the investment newsletters monitored by my performance-monitoring firm.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
She worked for the Division of Applied Mathematics at the Soviet Academy of Sciences and was recommended for the cosmonaut program by its president, Mstislav Keldysh.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
This is the first book I’ve ever read that sounds just like a social media feed, with the author recommending product after product, and then stipulating whether or not he is affiliated with them.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
Others are recommending renting your house if you’re lucky enough to have a 2% or 3% mortgage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The Police Ombudsman submitted a misconduct file to the PSNI, recommending the two officers should be disciplined for failing to properly investigate the case and not providing adequate updates to the complainant.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Investors may also consider selling VIX Sep puts to fund call spreads for flat premium,” the strategists said, recommending selling a VIX Sep 16 put and buying a 20/25 call spread.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Victor was proud of his achievement, and went about recommending it and urging everyone to partake of it to excess.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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.
