recommend
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to present as worthy of confidence, acceptance, use, etc.; commend; mention favorably.
to recommend an applicant for a job; to recommend a book.
- Antonyms:
- condemn
-
to represent or urge as advisable or expedient.
to recommend caution.
-
to advise, as an alternative; suggest (a choice, course of action, etc.) as appropriate, beneficial, or the like.
He recommended the blue-plate special. The doctor recommended special exercises for her.
- Synonyms:
- counsel
-
to make desirable or attractive.
a plan that has very little to recommend it.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to advise as the best course or choice; counsel
to recommend prudence
-
to praise or commend
to recommend a new book
-
to make attractive or advisable
the trip has little to recommend it
-
archaic to entrust (a person or thing) to someone else's care; commend
Usage
Spelling tips for recommend The word recommend is hard to spell because it is tricky to know whether the c, the m, and/or the n is doubled. How to spell recommend: The easiest way to remember how to spell recommend is to break it into three parts: re - com - mend. You can keep these three sections in mind with the sentence: "I recommend that you rely commonly on mending."
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
recommendernoun
-
prerecommendverb (used with object)
-
recommendableadjective
-
unrecommendableadjective
-
unrecommendedadjective
-
well-recommendedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
recommendsimple
-
recommendssimple
-
have recommendedperfect
-
has recommendedperfect
-
am recommendingprogressive
-
are recommendingprogressive
-
is recommendingprogressive
-
have been recommendingperfect progressive
-
has been recommendingperfect progressive
Past
-
recommendedsimple
-
had recommendedperfect
-
was recommendingprogressive
-
were recommendingprogressive
-
had been recommendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recommend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English recommenden, from Medieval Latin recommendāre; equivalent to re- + commend
Explanation
If you recommend a person or thing is to vouch for them. Recommend can also be to advise. If your doctor recommended an exercise program to you that's changed your life, you might recommend your doctor to your friends. Recommend is connected to the verb commend "to praise." They are both spelled with one c and two m's, reflecting the prefixes re- and com-. These verbs overlap in some uses: you can recommend or commend an applicant for employment. But commend is used for special or public praise: "He was commended for bravery."
Vocabulary lists containing recommend
"the insanity of selling junk food"
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Excerpt from "Bad Boy"
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Encourage
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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:
Experts recommend thinking carefully about whether it makes sense to lease an Apple product.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
I point out to families that I have my own kids, and I would never recommend something for your kids that I wouldn’t do for mine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I had friends who probably wouldn't describe themselves as birders, but more just curious about nature and the world around them, recommend it to me," Megan said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
To help get your weekend off to a happy start, I recommend:
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Here’s what I recommend, and what most publishers do these days.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Analyst Cameron Halkett recommends that investors look past the short-term cost impacts of Pinnacle’s acquisition of Pacific Asset Management, and instead focus on underlying net profit to gauge performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Gomez-Cardona also recommends that couples stress-test their retirement plans for widowhood.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
A blueprint for No 10 North produced by the think tank Re:State recommends a workforce of as many as 300 staff within 18 months.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
UC also “strongly” recommends a fourth year of math and recommends a third year of science.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
They simulate a conversation, as classic style recommends, and they are gifts to the memory-challenged reader.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Confused and dissatisfied with local treatment plans, Lynette sought a second opinion from The Royal Marsden Hospital in London which recommended genetic testing and platinum chemotherapy – something not offered on the NHS at home.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The findings do not suggest that exercise is ineffective or that it should no longer be recommended.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
I recommended to John Carroll, the then-editor of the paper, that he make her a columnist and urged Babitz to write him directly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The FDA’s career scientists recommended against greenlighting any of the peptides on the list, which come in formulations including injections, nasal sprays and topical creams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Reviewers called Kane’s work “magnificent,” “stirring,” and recommended it “be in the hands of parents and school children” everywhere.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The vote followed hours of presentations by FDA scientists who urged against recommending greater access to BPC-157, as well as public comment on both sides of the issue.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The European steel and metal processor views the U.S. company’s intentions as broadly positive, but stopped short of recommending acceptance of the offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, which is represented by the Office of the County Counsel, has repeatedly clashed with the office because its lawyers are also recommending the Sheriff’s Department ignore the commission’s subpoenas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
YouTube is still recommending eating disorder videos to teenage users a year after new rules were introduced to curb harmful online content, according to new research.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Cassiodorus, writing in the 6th century in southern Italy for the guidance of trainee scribes, included punctuation in his Institutions Divinarum et Saecularium Litterarum, recommending “clear pausing in well-regulated delivery”.
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
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.
