laudable

[ law-duh-buh l ]

/ ˈlɔ də bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR laudable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

deserving praise; praiseworthy; commendable: Reorganizing the files was a laudable idea.

Medicine/Medical Obsolete. healthy; wholesome; not noxious.

Nearby words

lau lau, lauan, laud, laud, william, lauda, laudable, laudanum, laudation, laudator, laudator temporis acti, laudatory

Origin of laudable

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word laudābilis. See laud, -able

Related forms

laud·a·bil·i·ty, laud·a·ble·ness, nounlaud·a·bly, adverbun·laud·a·ble, adjectiveun·laud·a·ble·ness, noun

un·laud·a·bly, adverb

Can be confusedlaudable laudatory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for laudable

With laudable promptness, the speechifying began, as promised, at 11.
Black American Leadership Alliance D.C. Anti-Immigration Rally Wilts|Michelle Cottle|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The garment is laudable: both innovative and socially conscious.
‘Anti-Rape’ Lingerie Creator Wants to Protect Women From Sexual Assault|Isabel Wilkinson|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But the activists, for obvious and laudable reasons, want this option to be taken off the books in this case and for all time.
Saudi Arabia’s Child-Rape Case: Female Activists Fight to Prevent Abuse|Christopher Dickey|February 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And we endorse the principle that no goal is laudable if it increases even slightly the risk of violence against our children.
Autism Had Nothing to Do With Adam Lanza’s Rampage|Richard E. Farley|December 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST

These are telling remarks, and they show how laudable exercises in empathy can end up hurting those they intend to help.
Stop Moping! The Marathon Is Exactly What New York Needs Right Now|Jay Michaelson|November 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Why should it be culpable to steal from a resident, and laudable to do the same thing with a stranger?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 385. November, 1847.|Various
What heart is forever exempt from the goadings of compunction and the influx of laudable propensities?
Wieland; or The Transformation|Charles Brockden Brown
Mr. Clyde Fitch had, at least, laudable ambitions in the direction of psychology.
Play-Making|William Archer
On the slightest pretext practices, plans and rules are altered and for every trivial obstacle our laudable customs are abandoned.
Light and Peace|Carlo Giuseppe Quadrupani
There is a most amiable, laudable, and gallant spirit prevailing in these middle colonies.
Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife Abigail Adams During the Revolution|John Adams

British Dictionary definitions for laudable

laudable

/ (ˈlɔːdəbəl) /

adjective

deserving or worthy of praise; admirable; commendable

Derived Formslaudableness or laudability, nounlaudably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for laudable

laudable

adj.

early 15c., from Old French laudable and directly from Latin laudabilis "praiseworthy," from laudare (see laud). Related: Laudably.

laudable

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of laudable

Examples from the Web for laudable

British Dictionary definitions for laudable

laudable

adjective

Word Origin and History for laudable

laudable

Medicine definitions for laudable

laudable

adj.