belaud

verb be·laud \ bi-ˈlȯd , bē- \

Examples: belaud in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of belaud

belauded; belauding; belauds

transitive verb

: to praise usually to excess

belaud was our Word of the Day on 11/18/2017. Hear the podcast!

Examples of belaud in a Sentence

critically belauded in his heyday, that early 20th-century novelist is now largely forgotten

Did You Know?

You may recognize the word laud (meaning "to praise or extol") in "belaud." In fact, "belaud" was formed by combining the prefix be- and the verb "laud." Since "be-" can denote both "to a greater degree" and "excessively or ostentatiously," it perhaps should come as no surprise that while "laud" may imply praise to a deserved degree, "belaud" often has the connotations of unreasonable or undeserved praise. Incidentally, both "laud" and by extension "belaud" derive from the Latin verb laudare, which in turn traces back to laud-, meaning "praise." Other descendants of "laud-" in English include "laudatory," "laudable," and even laudation, meaning "an act of praising."