belaud

verb

be·​laud bi-ˈlȯd 

bē-

belauded; belauding; belauds

transitive verb

: to praise usually to excess

Did you know?

You may recognize the word laud (meaning "to praise or extol") in belaud. In fact, belaud was formed by combining the prefix be- and the verb laud. Since be- can denote both "to a greater degree" and "excessively or ostentatiously," it perhaps should come as no surprise that while laud may imply praise to a deserved degree, belaud often has the connotations of unreasonable or undeserved praise. Incidentally, both laud and by extension belaud derive from the Latin verb laudare, which in turn traces back to laud-, meaning "praise." Other descendants of laud- in English include laudatory, laudable, and even laudation, meaning "an act of praising."

Synonyms

• adulate
• blarney
• butter up
• flatter
• hero-worship
• honey
• massage
• overpraise
• puff
• soft-soap
• stroke

Examples of belaud in a Sentence

critically belauded in his heyday, that early 20th-century novelist is now largely forgotten

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

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