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:
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
While Trump didn't mention it in his Truth Social post, there was widespread praise from both parties for her Imagination Library program, which gave away millions of free books to children.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Carney, a former central bank governor in Canada and the U.K., earned praise for guiding those countries through the 2008 global financial crisis and Brexit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Plus I’d loved teaching, and for years my employer had offered me praise, awards and touted the high return-student ratio I’d helped to build.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Martin O'Neill sang their praises in the aftermath and preached caution ahead of the second leg, as he was obliged to do.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
At every turn, including in “This Is Me” and the press she did for it, Panettiere praises Klitschko as a terrific father who believed he was doing what was best for his child.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Today, Richards praises Watt for getting “the hang of working between Mick and me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I’ve happily sung the praises of jarred garlic and frozen ginger cubes.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
It can be imagined how Greece rang with the praises of the young man who had cleared the land of these banes to travelers.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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
After the first-Test win at Headingley, captain Joe Root said his pace bowlers "do not know how good they can be" and praised the variety they offer.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Bessent praised Warsh earlier this year as a “new sheriff in town.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Writing in an editorial, professors Tobias Kurth of the University Medical Center Berlin and Richard Riley of the National Institute for Health and Care Research in Birmingham praised the study design.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The sisters merely praised the Lord and proceeded to save a dozen people from snakebite; more than we’ve lost.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
The Guardian awarded it four stars, external, praising its "spirit of defiance", while The Times only gave it two stars, external, calling the show "sincere" but "stilted".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The story ends with the professors nodding their heads gravely and praising Ticky’s humility, which, to the reader, might appear rather pompous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Do you know when she started praising the Wallers so highly?”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
