congratulate
verbcommon in dialogue
- United States//kənˈɡɹæd͡ʒ.ʊˌleɪt//
- United States//-d͡ʒ.ə-//
- //kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt//
- //-t͡ʃ.ə-//
To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
verb
- 1
To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
Remind me to congratulate Dave and Lisa on their wedding.
We must congratulate Dave and Lisa on getting married.
Ronaldo Sr., who is the record goalscorer in men’s international soccer with 136 goals for Portugal, congratulated his son on his Instagram Stories by posting a picture of his name on the squad list, saying: “Proud of you, son!”
- 2
To consider oneself fortunate in some matter.
I congratulated myself on the success of my plan.
Etymology
First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin congrātulor (“to wish joy, rejoice (with); to congratulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (“grateful, pleasing, agreeable, beloved”) + -or. By surface analysis, con- + gratulate.
Forms
- past tense
- congratulated
- past participle
- congratulated
- present participle
- congratulating
- third person singular
- congratulates
congratulate · To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
congratulations · Expressing praise and approval, expressing approbation.congregation · The act of congregating or collecting together.congress · A formal gathering or assembly of persons; a conference held…