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:
It features the Latin-influenced soul bop “If I Let You,” which quickly went viral and garnered praise from artists such as Questlove, Ghostface Killah, Erykah Badu, Pharrell Williams, SZA and Timbaland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The new Labour leader has won praise for his fluent, natural style on camera, in contrast to Starmer's somewhat stiff delivery.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
There is some praise for their work on drawing critically endangered mammals back from the brink.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Micron is undergoing a similar shift that has won praise in the analyst community.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Bowing with the air of one accustomed to public praise, he stole to the cavern and ordered Hagar to come forth with a commanding, “What ho, minion! I need thee!”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
With another grad, a clinical supervisor from his treatment facility sang his praises.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Paid posts from food bloggers "who sing high praises about shops or destinations" have also drawn complaints when their recommendations are disappointing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
I’ve happily sung the praises of jarred garlic and frozen ginger cubes.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Roshkoff said that when she or her siblings did something to make their father proud, he’d sing their praises to anyone who would listen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Tío Yehuda is pleased and praises Isaac and Jacob.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
A chief fire officer has praised soldiers for supporting crews tackling wildfires in south Wales.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Our critic praised the “sweeping, chronological survey” as a “lavish consecration” of the man and his art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
El-Sayed, who called Haley “the least capable candidate in America” in the race’s final days, has since praised her at a unity rally the two held together.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
While Sharaa praised Russia's "historic role" in Syria and the region, Damascus has repeatedly demanded that it extradite Assad, who has been sheltering in Moscow with his wife since his ouster.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
I greeted Private Olakunde and praised him for the excellence of his performances upon his drum, for which he thanked me.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
They are sharing clips praising Niu Lai's "hand-crafted" method - a reference to the poor animation quality - as "proof" that its creators did not use AI.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Talks began just days after the tournament, with Rodri's camp praising the courtesy, class and respect shown by the club throughout the negotiations.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Though the industry’s PAC is relatively new, filing its statement of organization in March, it’s already released ads praising Trump’s marijuana policy.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
It doesn’t reverse Washington’s Hong Kong policy, but it’s a symbolic concession—and China’s Commerce Ministry responded with unusually warm language praising the move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
As if they were standing before a miracle, my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and Mr. Lucas continued praising the Lord like they were in church.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
