Meaning & use
commend
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To say publicly or officially that someone or something deserves admiration for what they did.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with for: commend the staff for their courage.
Patterns
- commend someone for something
- commend someone on something
The principal commended the students for raising money after the flood.
The judge commended the witness on her honesty.
Inspectors commended the hospital's careful handling of patient records.
verbtransitiveformal
To recommend someone or something to others as suitable or worth supporting.
Grammar: Often takes to: commend a plan to the board.
Patterns
- commend something to someone
I commend this book to anyone who wants to understand the history of the region.
The committee commended the proposal to the council for approval.
She commended her assistant to the director as a reliable worker.
verbtransitiveformalold-fashioned
To place someone or something in another's care or trust.
Grammar: Used with to and a reflexive or abstract object: commend your soul to God.
Patterns
- commend something to someone
The dying knight commended his young son to the care of his friend.
They commended their souls to God before the long voyage.
He commended the farm to his neighbor while he travelled.
Word forms
| third person singular | commends |
|---|---|
| past tense | commended |
| past participle | commended |
| -ing form | commending |
Common combinations
- highly commended
- Her design was highly commended by the judges.
- commend someone for bravery
- The mayor commended the firefighters for bravery.
- commend someone on a performance
- We commend you on a splendid performance.
- commend itself to
- The plan commends itself to anyone who values simplicity.
- can only commend
- I can only commend the team for staying calm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- praise
- Praise is the everyday word and can be quick or casual, while commend sounds more formal and often comes with an official statement.
- applaud
- Applaud suggests strong public approval, often of a decision or action, and may literally mean clapping.
- recommend
- Recommend means to advise that something is good to choose, whereas commend also carries admiration for something already done.
- laud
- Laud is more elevated and literary than commend and implies lavish praise.
Opposites
Word family
- commendation noun
- formal praise or an award for good work
- commendable adjective
- deserving praise
- commendably adverb
- in a way that deserves praise
- commendatory adjective
- expressing praise
Commonly confused: commend or commemorate? commend or recommend?
commend vs commemorate
Commemorate means to honor the memory of a person or event with a ceremony or monument; it does not mean to praise someone's actions.
commend vs recommend
Recommend advises someone to choose or do something, while commend expresses approval of what was done.
Practice
The mayor wished to ___ the volunteers for their tireless work after the storm.
Choose one answer.
Commend for means to praise formally. Commemorate honors a memory, condemn is the opposite of approval, and command means to order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commend”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.