praise
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to say that someone or something is very good.
v.to express warm approval or admiration of someone or something. Transitive — requires a direct object.
Simple“The teacher praised the students for their hard work on the project.”
In context“The critics praised the director's innovative use of lighting, noting that it transformed an otherwise conventional script into a visual masterpiece.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'for' to indicate the reason for the approval.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to show respect and love for a god through words or song.
v.to glorify or express adoration for a deity as an act of worship.
Simple“The congregation gathered to praise God through hymns and prayer.”
In context“The ancient text contains several psalms intended to praise the creator for the abundance of the harvest.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.words that show you admire someone or something.
n.the expression of approval or admiration. Uncountable when referring to the concept; countable when referring to specific instances.
Simple“The young artist received a lot of praise for her first exhibition.”
In context“Despite the widespread praise from the public, the author remained modest about the impact of his latest novel.”
SynonymsAntonyms
Usage praised the work
“In a social media post, the president scolded South Korea for not helping denuclearize Iran, and also praised North Korea and its leader.”
“In 1787, Jefferson praised newspapers and the free press .”
From Middle English praise, preyse, from the verb (see below). Doublet of prize. Displaced native Middle English lof from Old English lof (“praise”) and Middle English loenge, loange from Old French löenge, löange (“praise”).
From Middle English praisen, preisen, from Old French proisier, preisier (“to value, prize”), from Late Latin pretiō (“to value, prize”) from pretium (“price, worth, reward”). Displaced native Middle English herien from Old English herian (“to praise”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.