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Word of the Day:

May 27, 2019

commemorate

verb kuh-MEM-uh-rayt

What it Means

1 : to call to remembrance

2 : to mark by some ceremony or observation : observe

3 : to serve as a memorial of

Commemorate in Context

A plaque commemorates the battle that took place on this spot 200 years ago.

"The conference will feature presentations by educators and World War II history experts, along with discussions with veterans of the war. It will culminate with a remembrance ceremony at the World War II Memorial, where participants will commemorate veterans of that war." — Abigail Austin, The Morning Sentinel (Waterville, Maine), 15 Apr. 2019

More example sentences

Did You Know?

When you remember something, you are mindful of it. It's appropriate, therefore, that commemorate and other related memory-associated words (including memorable, memorial, remember, and memory itself) come from the Latin root memor, meaning "mindful." Some distant older relatives are Old English gemimor ("well-known"), Greek mermēra ("care"), and Sanskrit smarati ("he remembers"). English speakers have been marking the memory of important events with commemorate since the late 16th century.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of commemorate meaning "to observe": s _ l _ _ n _ _ e.

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