recommend
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
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
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
"the insanity of selling junk food"
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Excerpt from "Bad Boy"
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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.
But there is one airline stock he doesn’t recommend buying—indeed, no one does among a dozen analysts who cover it—and that is Frontier.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
Leading American institutions and the World Health Organization recommend that newborns get the shot.
From Salon • May 7, 2026
But the CDC does recommend vaccinating infants when they are between 6 and 11 months old if they’re either traveling internationally or at risk of measles exposure during an outbreak.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
This was market timing again, something advisers didn’t recommend.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
“I’d recommend inserting machine screws around the diameter of your thing to hold it in place. What did you call it?”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
