congratulate

verb

con·​grat·​u·​late kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlāt 

-ˈgra-jə-

congratulated; congratulating

transitive verb

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)

3

obsolete : salute, greet

congratulator

kən-ˈgra-chə-ˌlā-tər 

-ˈgra-jə-

noun

Synonyms

• compliment
• felicitate
• hug

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

June 12, 2025 When Caruso's current team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, clinched the NBA Finals, Johnson was one of the first to take to X and congratulate Caruso. —Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025

The program marked its launch yesterday (June 9) at Amazon’s flagship New York City office, Hank, with an event to welcome and congratulate the interns. —Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Trump and Musk congratulated each other in a wide-ranging chat, covering topics such as then-Vice President Kamala Harris, how Trump handled the assassination attempt and climate change. —Spriha Srivastava,sam Meredith, CNBC, 6 June 2025

During the two-hour conversation, Trump congratulated Musk, seemingly on his 2022 acquisition of the platform formerly known as Twitter, per the outlet. —Jordana Comiter, People.com, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin congratulatus, past participle of congratulari to wish joy, from com- + gratulari to wish joy, from gratus pleasing — more at grace

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for congratulate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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

Etymology

from Latin congratulatus "has wished joy," derived from Latin con-, com- "with, together" and gratulari "to wish joy," from gratus "pleasing, agreeable, thankful" — related to grace, gratitude