praise
Americannoun
-
the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation.
- Synonyms:
- compliment, approbation, applause, plaudit, acclamation
- Antonyms:
- condemnation
-
the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship.
a hymn of praise to God.
-
the state of being approved or admired.
The king lived in praise for many years.
-
Archaic. a ground for praise, or a merit.
verb (used with object)
-
praises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
praised,
past participle, past
-
praising
present participle
idioms
noun
-
the act of expressing commendation, admiration, etc
-
the extolling of a deity or the rendering of homage and gratitude to a deity
-
the condition of being commended, admired, etc
-
archaic the reason for praise
-
to commend someone highly
verb
-
to express commendation, admiration, etc, for
-
to proclaim or describe the glorious attributes of (a deity) with homage and thanksgiving
Synonym Usage
See approve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
praisernoun
-
self-praisenoun
-
superpraisenoun
-
outpraiseverb (used with object)
-
repraiseverb (used with object)
-
half-praisedadjective
-
half-praisingadjective
-
praisefuladjective
-
praiselessadjective
-
self-praisingadjective
-
unpraisedadjective
-
unpraisefuladjective
-
unpraisingadjective
-
praisefullyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
praisesimple
-
praisessimple
-
have praisedperfect
-
has praisedperfect
-
am praisingprogressive
-
are praisingprogressive
-
is praisingprogressive
-
have been praisingperfect progressive
-
has been praisingperfect progressive
Past
-
praisedsimple
-
had praisedperfect
-
was praisingprogressive
-
were praisingprogressive
-
had been praisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of praise
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb preisen, from Old French preisier “to value, prize,” from Late Latin pretiāre, derivative of Latin pretium “worth, reward” ( see price); noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
Praise means "admiration or approval," and when you're on the receiving end of it, you feel great. Whether it's used as a verb or a noun, praise means "approval." If you enthusiastically praise your dog, he's likely to wag his tail and expect a treat. What you've given him (in addition to the treat) is praise, the noun. In a religious context, the verb praise is interchangeable with worship, as when a minister says, "Praise God."
Vocabulary lists containing praise
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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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:
Welker is an award-winning journalist who earned bipartisan praise after moderating a 2020 presidential debate featuring Trump and Joe Biden, the Democrat who won that year's election.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this year gave a nod to the incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh as the “new sheriff in town,” but the public praise belies an underlying tension between the pair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Dave Grohl was effusive in his praise of Dudamel, saying this is what he wanted to do every night forever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
It was in fact a family praise name which he adopted as his professional identity.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The praise squares Helmuth's shoulders and he beams at the storm trooper.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Nadira Goffe praises Lanterns’ deft portrayal of the Black American experience.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
Tom Nolan praises the “shrewd character assessments and sharp observations on class distinctions” in Chris Bohjalian’s novel of suspense and emotional revelation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Kimi pays tribute to his father, describing him as his "rock", while Wolff also praises the driver's "typical Italian family".
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
With another grad, a clinical supervisor from his treatment facility sang his praises.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
How they would sing praises of his valiant stand against what must assuredly be the largest great black-backed gull ever encountered!
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
A Federal Bureau of Investigation official praised the public-private sector operation as enhancing the bureau’s capabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
He praised Damascus's "courageous decision" to report the undisclosed site, which dates back to the rule of al-Assad.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
He also praised Sir Keir for leading Labour to one of its "best victories" in the 2024 election.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
In 2019, Trump praised the CEO for Apple’s domestic investments, accidentally coining the nickname “Tim Apple” in the process.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
While some great naturalists still praised her books, she fell into disfavor with a scientific establishment that increasingly rejected the work of self-taught amateurs.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
Earlier this year Tiffany was praising the technology and voting to speed AI infrastructure through.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
The new version seems unlikely to have the same problem, with some groups immediately praising the lack of fee caps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
CNN released a statement praising Holmes for asking “a tough, relevant, and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people” and calling personal insults “beneath the office.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Write guidance such as “Don’t begin responses by praising the question, idea or plan. Just answer it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Peter was a manic ball of energy and would walk around praising a well-executed attack or correcting a failed attempt to score.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
