praise

[preyz]

noun

1. the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation.

   Synonyms: compliment, approbation, applause, plaudit, acclamation
   Antonyms: condemnation

2. the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship.

   a hymn of praise to God.

   Synonyms: panegyric, eulogy, encomium

3. the state of being approved or admired.

   The king lived in praise for many years.

4. Archaic.,  a ground for praise, or a merit.

verb (used with object)

praised, praising 

1. to express approval or admiration of; commend; extol.

   Synonyms: eulogize, applaud, laud
   Antonyms: depreciate

2. to offer grateful homage to (God or a deity), as in words or song.

   Synonyms: honor, exalt, glorify

praise

/ preɪz /

noun

1. the act of expressing commendation, admiration, etc

2. the extolling of a deity or the rendering of homage and gratitude to a deity

3. the condition of being commended, admired, etc

4. archaic,  the reason for praise

5. to commend someone highly

verb

1. to express commendation, admiration, etc, for

2. to proclaim or describe the glorious attributes of (a deity) with homage and thanksgiving

Other Word Forms

• praiser noun
• praiseful adjective
• praisefully adverb
• praiseless adjective
• half-praised adjective
• half-praising adjective
• outpraise verb (used with object)
• repraise verb (used with object)
• self-praise noun
• self-praising adjective
• superpraise noun
• unpraised adjective
• unpraiseful adjective
• unpraising adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of praise¹

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” ( price ); noun derivative of the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of praise¹

C13: from Old French preisier, from Late Latin pretiāre to esteem highly, from Latin pretium prize; compare _prize ², _precious

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. sing someone's praises, to praise someone publicly and enthusiastically.

   He is always singing his wife's praises.

More idioms and phrases containing praise

• damn with faint praise
• sing someone's praises

Synonym Study

See approve.

Example Sentences

He also apologized for “the concern” his earlier support for troops in the city had caused, and praised San Francisco’s new mayor, Daniel Lurie, for bringing crime down.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Nobel committee praised "their penetrating investigation... which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles".

Read more on BBC

But he outlasted many rivals and is credited as a major player in returning Kenya to multi-party democracy in the 1990s and overseeing the widely praised constitution of 2010.

Read more on Barron's

Yet the man who praised the group for its sincerity is evasive about his own positions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As a senior member of the military caucus, he praised Xi’s program to modernize the armed forces and urged more efforts to strengthen political loyalty.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• acclaim 
• accolade 
• applause 
• appreciation 
• approval 
• cheer 
• commendation 
• compliment 
• cry 
• devotion 
• esteem 
• glory 
• kudos 
• ovation 
• plaudit 
• rave 
• recognition 
• recommendation 
• thanks 
• tribute