Words / B2

k-uh-n-GRACH-ool-ayt/kənˈɡrætʃuleɪt/

To congratulate is to tell someone you are pleased about their success or good luck: congratulate on; congratulations. Praise is broader; felicitate is dated and formal. Congratulate the winner in the minutes; still record the vote. Mix-up: congratulate vs congregate; graduations; do not write congratulate for a slogan with no named success.

Meaning

To tell someone you are pleased about their success or good luck (congratulate on).

Examples

• “Congratulate the winner in the minutes; still record the vote, the clerk said.”
• “The board sent congratulations on the award, the letter said, which is the noun sense — still name the body.”

Good to know

congratulate someone on; congratulations. Close: praise / commend. Trap: congregate. Citizenship, news, and letters. Tell someone you are pleased about a named success, not a greeting-card slogan.

Near in meaning

praise, commend, felicitate

New