congratulatory

[ kuhn-grach-uh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-eeor, often, -graj-, kuhng- ]

adjective

1. expressing or conveying congratulations:

   a congratulatory telegram.

Other Words From

• noncon·gratu·la·tory adjective
• quasi-con·gratu·la·tory adjective
• uncon·gratu·la·tory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of congratulatory¹

1515–25; < Medieval Latin congrātulātōrius, equivalent to Latin congrātulā ( rī ) ( congratulate ) + -tōrious -tory ¹

Example Sentences

There’s a fine line between movies that are genuinely original and those that feel deliberately orchestrated to shock and repel us in a winking, self-congratulatory way.

From Time

Social media was flooded with congratulatory notes to her and actor Anthony Mackie invited her to the ESPY Awards, which he is hosting.

From Washington Post

Forward it to a friend, and then see if they send you a congratulatory note.

From Quartz

“So in love with my son,” she captioned a photo while also sharing that celebrities like Beyoncé and Kanye West had sent congratulatory gifts her way.

From Essence.com

He described the scene during a congratulatory call from the Nobel Committee.

From Axios

ERIK: He texted us about a few weeks ago, just to kind of give us a congratulatory text on “Skydive” and the video.

From The Daily Beast

The general reaction among his teammates was congratulatory and warm, but in retrospect surprisingly muted.

From The Daily Beast

Author Gary Shteyngart was even congratulatory: “Mazel Tov, Random Penguin!”

From The Daily Beast

“It was not in my nature to turn the campaign into a constant exercise in self-congratulatory autobiography,” he explained.

From The Daily Beast

The celebrations have been unanimous, just as they have been unanimously self-congratulatory.

From The Daily Beast

Sues saucy, self-congratulatory toss of the head 14 stung her so that she could have cried out.

From Project Gutenberg

Lawrence received a congratulatory message from General Schofield, highly praising him.

From Project Gutenberg

Every effort was made to obtain congratulatory addresses on the peace from municipal bodies, and money was offered for them.

From Project Gutenberg

But this congratulatory strain of the queen of Sheba may be applied to the Christian age, and to "a greater than Solomon."

From Project Gutenberg

But it was not a simple congratulatory address that Charles, or his mother, required of his parliament.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• celebratory
• complimentary