praise

[ preyz ]
See synonyms for: praisepraisedpraisespraising on Thesaurus.com

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

  2. the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship: a hymn of praise to God.

  1. the state of being approved or admired: The king lived in praise for many years.

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

verb (used with object),praised, prais·ing.
  1. to express approval or admiration of; commend; extol.

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

Idioms about praise

  1. sing someone's praises, to praise someone publicly and enthusiastically: He is always singing his wife's praises.

Origin of praise

1
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

synonym study For praise

5. See approve.

Other words for praise

Opposites for praise

Other words from praise

  • praiseful, adjective
  • praise·ful·ly, adverb
  • praiseless, adjective
  • praiser, noun
  • half-praised, adjective
  • half-praising, adjective
  • outpraise, verb (used with object), out·praised, out·prais·ing.
  • re·praise, verb (used with object), re·praised, re·prais·ing.
  • self-praise, noun
  • self-praising, adjective
  • su·per·praise, noun, verb (used with object), su·per·praised, su·per·prais·ing.
  • un·praised, adjective
  • un·praise·ful, adjective
  • un·prais·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use praise in a sentence

  • He was a sworn foe to the unusual and the conspicuous, a praiser of the golden mean, a kind of city uncle modified by Cheeryble.

  • Such was Ben, in panegyric verse hyperbolical; in conversation “a despiser of others, and praiser of himself.”

  • But the pièce de résistance of the praiser of the past is now marriage, with discreet hints about the birth-rate.

    Mental Efficiency | Arnold Bennett
  • And this also did I learn among them: the praiser doeth as if he gave back; in truth, however, he wanteth more to be given him!

    Thus Spake Zarathustra | Friedrich Nietzsche
  • She possessed ambition, but she sold herself to praise without regard for the praiser.

    The Goose Man | Jacob Wassermann

British Dictionary definitions for praise

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

  1. the condition of being commended, admired, etc

  2. archaic the reason for praise

  3. sing someone's praises to commend someone highly

verb(tr)
  1. to express commendation, admiration, etc, for

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

Origin of praise

1
C13: from Old French preisier, from Late Latin pretiāre to esteem highly, from Latin pretium prize; compare prize ², precious

Derived forms of praise

  • praiser, noun

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with praise

praise

In addition to the idiom beginning with praise

  • praise to the skies

also see:

  • damn with faint praise
  • sing someone's praises

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.