congratulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
- congratulation noun
- congratulator noun
- congratulatory adjective
- precongratulate verb (used with object)
- uncongratulated adjective
- uncongratulating adjective
Etymology
Origin of congratulate
1540–50; < Latin congrātulātus, past participle of congrātulārī. See congratulant, -ate 1
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.
After she started using the jabs, people would come up to her and congratulate her on her weight loss.
From BBC
Leavitt also congratulated President John F. Kennedy and said "this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur".
From BBC
Such milestones were previously marked by team-wide emails encouraging co-workers to congratulate her.
They stayed behind at Joie Stadium on Sunday to show their appreciation, giving her a standing ovation as the club congratulated her formally at full-time.
From BBC
Dutra congratulated the board for coming up with “the right process” to hear from the public.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
