congratulate

play

verb con·grat·u·late \kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlāt, -ˈgra-jə-\

Definition of congratulate

congratulated

;

congratulating

transitive verb
1 archaic : to express sympathetic pleasure at (an event)
2 : 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
3 obsolete : salute, greet

congratulator

play \kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlā-tər, -ˈgra-jə-\ noun

congratulatory

play \kən-ˈgra-chə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē, -ˈgra-jə-\ adjective

See congratulate defined for English-language learners

See congratulate defined for kids

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.

Recent Examples of congratulate from the Web

U.S. Sen. Jim Risch congratulated Davis on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

— ruth brown, idahostatesman, "Sen. Bart Davis nominated as Idaho’s new U.S. Attorney", 29 June 2017
Back to the feud: Josh publicly responded, telling Us Weekly that Drake never even texted him back to congratulate him on his engagement in the first place, which, rude.

— jessica roy, The Cut, "This Week in Drama: Drake vs. Josh, Spicer Fat-Shamed, and the Great CIA Snack Scandal", 23 June 2017
His supporters congratulated him during a campaign stop the next day.

— jeff mays, Cosmopolitan, "Who Is Jon Ossoff? 14 Things You Need to Know About the Former Georgia Congressional Candidate.", 21 June 2017
Cluck and wife Linda were congratulated in warm remarks from Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, who praised Cluck for his remarkable civic service during his four terms as mayor preceded by two terms on the City Council.

— faye reeder, star-telegram.com, "Former Arlington mayors Cluck and Odom celebrate milestone events", 20 June 2017
Football ► Violation: While attempting to send a direct message to a recruit on Twitter to congratulate him for committing to UK, an assistant coach accidentally tweeted him publicly.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Tickets for 'Last Chance U' star among UK's self-reported NCAA rules violations", 19 June 2017
Ceremonies honoring the incubator's participants were held at the ArtHouse, with Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson on hand to congratulate the participants.

— gregory tejeda, Post-Tribune, "Gary caterers sing praises of incubator program", 16 June 2017
What happened on Friday is best described as shady, just like Dikembe Mutombo prematurely congratulating the 76ers on the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, or the Knicks winning the ’85 lottery.

— kenny ducey, SI.com, "Refs' Shady Technical Foul Explanation Still Doesn't Add Up", 10 June 2017
In a bit of a surprise, Vice President Mike Pence flew to Houston and visited Johnson Space Center Wednesday to also congratulate the new astronaut candidates.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "NASA has a spiffy new class of astronauts, but where will they go?", 8 June 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of congratulate

Latin congratulatus, past participle of congratulari to wish joy, from com- + gratulari to wish joy, from gratus pleasing — more at grace

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First Known Use: 1539

See Words from the same year

CONGRATULATE Defined for English Language Learners

congratulate

play

verb

Definition of congratulate for English Language Learners

: to tell (someone) that you are happy because of his or her success or good luck
: to feel pleased with (yourself)

CONGRATULATE Defined for Kids

congratulate

play

verb con·grat·u·late \kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlāt\

Definition of congratulate for Students

congratulated

;

congratulating

: to express pleasure on account of success or good fortune I congratulated the winner.

Word Root of congratulate

The Latin word gratus, meaning “pleasing” or “thankful,” gives us the root grat. Words from the Latin gratus have something to do with being pleasing or being thankful. To ingratiate yourself is to make others feel thankful for something you've done. To feel grateful is to feel thankful for something. Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness. To congratulate is to express how pleasing someone's success is.