congratulate
verb
con·grat·u·late
| \ kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlāt
, -ˈgra-jə-\
, -ˈgra-jə-\
congratulated;
congratulating
Definition of congratulate
1
: to express vicarious pleasure to (a person) on the occasion of success or good fortune
graciously congratulated the winner
also
: to feel pleased with
congratulating herself for a job well done
2
archaic
: to express sympathetic pleasure at (an event)
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Other Words from congratulate
congratulator
\ kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlā-tər
, -ˈgra-jə- \
noun
, -ˈgra-jə- \
noun
congratulatory
\ kən-ˈgra-chə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē
, -ˈgra-jə- \
adjective
, -ˈgra-jə- \
adjective
Examples of congratulate in a Sentence
I'd like to congratulate you on your success.
She congratulated us on our test results.
She congratulated herself for getting the best grade in her class.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Belz, who oversees training for San Diego police, congratulated officers and fire personnel on a job well done and then proceeded to dissect the drill in hopes of highlighting teachable moments. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Training for terror: San Diego police stage active-shooter drill at downtown high-rise," 17 Aug. 2019 Pelosi, in her keynote speech at the annual Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch, congratulated Pritzker and lauded a state that flipped two Republican congressional seats in the midterm elections. — Lisa Donovan, chicagotribune.com, "The Spin: In Springfield speech, Nancy Pelosi cheers Illinois Democrats, goes after ‘Moscow Mitch’," 14 Aug. 2019 During the graduation, participants were called up by their job coach where they were given praise, congratulated and had an anecdote shared about them. — Akira Kyles, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "The Arc in Carroll County honors record-breaking graduating class," 8 Aug. 2019 Harry called for an end to wasteful, single-use plastics; congratulated his guests on their eco-friendly efforts; and reenacted a chimp greeting with Goodall. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Meghan Markle's "Idol" Secretly Visited Her and Archie at Frogmore Cottage," 24 July 2019 Security guards and strangers were hugging us and congratulating us. — Ricky Pinela, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida couple gets engaged at Shawn Mendes concert – Mendes stops the show to congratulate them," 6 Aug. 2019 Shanahan visited Verrett after that first session of team drills to congratulate him on the mental hurdles of making it through the first practice of camp. — Cam Inman, The Mercury News, "49ers training camp: Highlights from Sunday’s practice," 28 July 2019 Pohlad, on the field before Monday’s game against the Yankees, sought out Polanco to congratulate him on becoming the American League’s starting shortstop for the All-Star Game. — Charley Walters, Twin Cities, "Charley Walters: Higher payroll with more wins is ‘part of the deal’ for Twins’ Pohlad," 27 July 2019 Take it from reality TV star Whitney Way Thore, who recently called out Instagram commenters who congratulated her on even just appearing to have lost weight. — Maggie O'neill, Health.com, "Whitney Way Thore Just Got Real About Weight Loss Compliments—And Why She Doesn't Want To Be Anyone's Inspiration," 26 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'congratulate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for congratulate
congratulate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of congratulate
: to tell (someone) that you are happy because of his or her success or good luck
: to feel pleased with (yourself)
See the full definition for congratulate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
congratulate
verb
con·grat·u·late
| \ kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlāt
\
\
congratulated;
congratulating
Kids Definition of congratulate
: to express pleasure on account of success or good fortune
I congratulated the winner.
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