- praise
- praise, laud, acclaim, extol, eulogize mean to express approbation or esteem.Praise often implies no more than warmly expressed commendation{
what we admire we praise, and when we praise, advance it into notice— Cowper
}When specifically referred to persons, it frequently suggests the judgment of a superior{praise a pupil for his diligence
}{he's given you every encouragement. He's praised you to the skies— Wouky
}However, it is also used in reference to God or a god or to a saint; then it implies glorification by such acts of homage as song or prayer{praise God from whom all blessings flow— Ken
}Laud implies high, sometimes excessive, praise{history written by the conqueror, lauding to the skies the victories of its sublime troops— Americas
}{both of the writers lauded highly . . . contemporaries who were certainly no better than middling performers in their several arts— Montague
}Acclaim usually suggests enthusiastic and public expression of approval{he was acclaimed not only in his own country but throughout the civilized world— Heiser
}{a new British film that has been widely acclaimed by the critics and public as a classic of its kind— Gillett
}Extol retains its original implication of lifting up or raising and suggests praise that exalts or magnifies{extol the Lamb with loftiest song, ascend for him our cheerful strain— R. A. West
}It is often used when a contrast between approbation or esteem and their opposites is enforced{an age must always decry itself and extol its forbears— Galsworthy
}Eulogize, sometimes interchangeable with extol, may differ from it in implying formality both in the method and in the occasion; very frequently it suggests a set composition or oration (eulogy)suitable for a funeral or testimonial{he eulogized constitutional government as immeasurably superior to des-potism— Lecky
}{one of those rare days in June eulogized by poets— Barkins
}Antonyms: blame
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
