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
In 2013, Epstein received an automated note from LinkedIn that he should congratulate Clark for her new role as CEO of Female Algorithm Technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
President Wilson telegrammed Carrie Chapman Catt to congratulate her; he did not contact Alice Paul.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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
Inglewood High School band teacher Joseph Jauregui congratulates Yvette de la Torre at graduation ceremonies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024
He congratulates all the candidates on our excellent speeches and wishes us all luck.
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
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
On Saturday I addressed the crew, congratulated them on a magnificent job, and sent them home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Before leaving the press car, he dutifully congratulated Ky Ebright and then gamely fielded the barrage of questions leveled at him.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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
While comments congratulating the couple flooded Wilkins’ Instagram, comments on their podcast appearance sang a different tune, with one user saying, “Why is the FBI director on a podcast with his girlfriend?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, spoke about the accomplishment as though it were fact, congratulating OpenAI and posting that “AGI has arrived.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 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
It didn’t seem fitting for Brinker Hadley, the hub of the class, to be congratulating me on influence.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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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.
