congratulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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congratulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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congratulated,
past participle, past
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congratulating
present participle
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to express pleasure to (a person), as on a happy occasion.
They congratulated him on his marriage.
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Archaic. to express sympathetic joy or satisfaction at (an event).
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Obsolete. to salute.
verb
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(usually foll by on) to communicate pleasure, approval, or praise to (a person or persons); compliment
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(often foll by on) to consider (oneself) clever or fortunate (as a result of)
she congratulated herself on her tact
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obsolete to greet
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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congratulationnoun
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congratulatornoun
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precongratulateverb (used with object)
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congratulatoryadjective
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uncongratulatedadjective
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uncongratulatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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congratulatesimple
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congratulatessimple
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have congratulatedperfect
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has congratulatedperfect
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am congratulatingprogressive
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are congratulatingprogressive
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is congratulatingprogressive
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have been congratulatingperfect progressive
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has been congratulatingperfect progressive
Past
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congratulatedsimple
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had congratulatedperfect
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was congratulatingprogressive
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were congratulatingprogressive
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had been congratulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of congratulate
1540–50; < Latin congrātulātus, past participle of congrātulārī. See congratulant, -ate 1
Explanation
When you congratulate someone, you give that person praise — or maybe even a party to congratulate him or her on a job well done. The word congratulate is linked to the Latin word congratulari, meaning “wish joy.” When you congratulate someone, you wish him or her joy, usually to celebrate an accomplishment or good fortune. Your joy can take the form of verbal praise (“Well done!”), a letter or card offering good wishes, a rowdy high five, or even a big chocolate cake. You can also congratulate yourself for reaching a long-time goal.
Vocabulary lists containing congratulate
"Raymond's Run"
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"A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," Vocabulary from the poem
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Week 1: Cultural Exchange
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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:
She called in to Thursday’s show to congratulate her husband.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
"I congratulate Dr. Schmidt and his team for their exceptional achievement and for engaging students as true partners in research that delivers global impact."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
Then it held a vote to congratulate itself on noticing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
In 2013, Epstein received an automated note from LinkedIn that he should congratulate Clark for her new role as CEO of Female Algorithm Technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Still, he couldn’t spare even a moment to congratulate himself—time was running short.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
That he, upon getting punched in the crotch by Johnny Cage, congratulates the latter on having stellar technique makes about as much sense as anything else on offer here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
"Spain congratulates the new president of Honduras and expresses its full willingness to continue working with the people and government of Honduras," the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Dec. 25, 2025
A nurse congratulates the family and hands over an administrative packet.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2025
He enters the church and congratulates Dave, who replies: “Cheers John, nice to see you.”
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024
“This is good news,” Emma whispers to me while the rest of my family congratulates Andre on being a somewhat likable person.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Haaland congratulated the doppelgangers styling their blond locks just like his.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"I congratulated him on his victory. We discussed the ways that we would work together," Carney told reporters in Ottawa.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
OpenAI on Tuesday congratulated the "concurrent work" of Buckmaster and Alpöge, calling it "remarkable."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated negotiators from both countries this week for having made “significant progress” in the trade talks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
As the end neared, I congratulated myself silently—and, as it turned out, prematurely.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
After congratulating the crew on completing thousands of combat missions with “zero casualties, zero flight mishaps, and zero working toilets,” Jost’s Hegseth offered an update on developments back home.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The cost of phone fatigue was not worth the short-term dopamine hit of my bird congratulating me on taking three deep breaths today.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
"It was all good attention though - everyone was dead nice and congratulating us!"
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Redick held back tears when general manager Rob Pelinka presented him with the game ball in the locker room on March 31 and showed a video of Redick’s sons, Knox and Kai, congratulating their dad.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
I couldn’t tell what she wrote but whatever it was, she took a second to admire it and clunked her turtle head, congratulating herself.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
