laudable

adjective

laud·able ˈlȯ-də-bəl

Synonyms of laudable next

: worthy of praise : commendable

She has shown a laudable devotion to her children.

laudableness

ˈlȯ-də-bəl-nəs

noun

laudably

ˈlȯ-də-blē

adverb

Did you know?

Let’s have a hearty round of applause for laudable, a word that never fails to celebrate the positive. Laudable comes ultimately from Latin laud- or laus, meaning "praise," as does laudatory. However, the two differ in meaning, and usage commentators warn against using them interchangeably. Laudable means "deserving praise" or "praiseworthy," as in "laudable efforts to help the disadvantaged." Laudatory means "giving praise" or "expressing praise," as in "a laudatory book review." People occasionally use laudatory in place of laudable, but this use is not considered standard.

Examples of laudable in a Sentence

Improving the schools is a laudable goal. you showed laudable restraint in dealing with that ridiculously demanding customer

Recent Examples on the Web Images: Reuters/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly President Biden has set an ambitious and laudable goal of reducing cancer mortality by half within 25 years, yet the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is working at cross purposes with that goal. —

The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Nov. 2023 While these are laudable objectives, the private sector and existing federal, state, and local programs are already doing this work. —

Jeff Luse, National Review, 11 Oct. 2023 Holloway said the goal of the plan was laudable, echoing similar sentiments from other educators interviewed by The Washington Post. —

Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2023 The goal of leaving an inheritance is laudable—full stop. —

Tim Maurer, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023 Her dogged commitment to looking back and finding the laudable parts of her challenging early life provides as clear an explanation for her storied accomplishments as her degrees and career appointments. —

Stacia L. Brown, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2023 These laudable changes are—on their own—pretty boring. —

Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 15 Aug. 2023 Though laudable, some experts doubt this crackdown will result in significant savings for Americans. —

Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 23 July 2023 That’s laudable, but unsupported by research, which has shown that in many cases Antarctic tourists become ambassadors for more tourism. —

Sara Clemence, The Atlantic, 3 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laudable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.