congratulate
verb
con·grat·u·late
kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlāt 
-ˈgra-jə-
congratulated; congratulating
1
: 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
2
archaic
: to express sympathetic pleasure at (an event)
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 on the Web
Keatts went on to congratulate the Wolfpack Women's team who also secured a spot in the Final Four in their tournament.
—
Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2024
Author Tom Vanderbilt politely congratulated his opponent after losing to him during a chess tournament.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2024
City staff congratulated the council for approving the Housing Element after much back and forth with the state.
—Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
However, the leaders of several key non-Western countries and Russian allies, including India and China, quickly congratulated Putin.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Keir Starmer, leader of Britain’s Labour Party, which opinion polls show as likely to win power in a national election due later this year, congratulated Gething in a statement.
—Reuters, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
SpaceX’s Elon Musk had just congratulated his team a little earlier.
—Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
On Tuesday, Travolta, 70, congratulated Chalamet, 28, on Instagram for joining him in sharing the record of having two top-grossing films in eight months — after over four decades of holding the record on his own.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
Putin congratulated them on the annexation and expressed satisfaction that Donbas and other areas of southeastern Ukraine were also now under Russian control.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2024
Author Tom Vanderbilt politely congratulated his opponent after losing to him during a chess tournament.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2024
City staff congratulated the council for approving the Housing Element after much back and forth with the state.
—Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
However, the leaders of several key non-Western countries and Russian allies, including India and China, quickly congratulated Putin.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Keir Starmer, leader of Britain’s Labour Party, which opinion polls show as likely to win power in a national election due later this year, congratulated Gething in a statement.
—Reuters, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
SpaceX’s Elon Musk had just congratulated his team a little earlier.
—Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
On Tuesday, Travolta, 70, congratulated Chalamet, 28, on Instagram for joining him in sharing the record of having two top-grossing films in eight months — after over four decades of holding the record on his own.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
Putin congratulated them on the annexation and expressed satisfaction that Donbas and other areas of southeastern Ukraine were also now under Russian control.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'congratulate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Congratulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/congratulate. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
congratulate
verb
con·grat·u·late
kən-ˈgrach-ə-ˌlāt
congratulated; congratulating
: to express pleasure to on account of success or good fortune
congratulate the winner
More from Merriam-Webster on congratulate
Nglish: Translation of congratulate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of congratulate for Arabic Speakers
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