commend

commend, recommend, applaud, compliment are comparable when they mean to voice or otherwise manifest to others one's warm approval.

Commend usually implies judicious or restrained praise, but it suggests as its motive a desire to call attention to the merits of a person or a thing

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the police commissioner publicly commended the officers who made the arrest

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his wife seriously commended Mr. Collins for having spoken so sensibly— Austen

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it is always dangerous and impertinent to commend a poem for anything but its poetry— Day Lewis

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embodying in his work the qualities of righteousness which will commend it to men of other times and places— Coheri

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Recommend adds to commend the implication of offering something that is praised for acceptance, use, or employment by another

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the physician recommended the treatment of bruises with alternating cold and hot applications

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his present employers highly recommended him to his prospective employers

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for a spare hour, I can recommend no more diverting pursuit— Skinner

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Applaud implies an enthusiastic expression of approval; it usually suggests approval by a large number of persons or by the public

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the president was applauded for his closing of all banks in the crisis

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everybody applauded the mayor's proposed entertainment, especially when it became known that he meant to pay for it all himself— Hardy

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Compliment stresses either courtesy in the commendation or, sometimes, flattery in the manner or words of praise

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the visitors to the convention complimented the townspeople on the arrangements made for their comfort

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"Marvelous cognac this, madame!" It was the first time it had ever been so complimented, and Madame Defarge knew enough of its antecedents to know better— Dickens

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Analogous words: *praise, laud, extol, eulogize, acclaim

Antonyms: censure: admonish

Contrasted words: *criticize, reprehend, reprobate, blame: *reprove, reproach, rebuke, reprimand, chide