congratulate
verb (used with object)
to express pleasure to (a person), as on a happy occasion.
was congratulating
-
past progressiveof congratulate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
As Shoigu and Surovikin announced the retreat on Wednesday, Putin was congratulating employees of a leading scientific institute on its 75th anniversary.
From Reuters ● Nov. 9, 2022
The woman on the other end was congratulating him.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2022
And he kept walking, and I never talked to him again until I was congratulating him on the 18th green.
From Golf Digest ● Mar. 24, 2020
The surgeon said he was congratulating himself on an amazing save but was nevertheless summoned to management and told what had happened was an NHS “never event”.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 10, 2019
I was congratulating myself for tracking down Tobias's father, and I should have gone to the Schouwburg instead.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
