commend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to present, mention, or praise as worthy of confidence, notice, kindness, etc.; recommend.
to commend a friend to another;
to commend an applicant for employment.
- Antonyms:
- censure
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to entrust; give in charge; deliver with confidence.
I commend my child to your care.
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to cite or name with approval or special praise.
to commend a soldier for bravery.
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Feudal Law. to place (oneself or one's land) under another's protection so as to become his vassal.
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Archaic. to recommend (a person) to the kind remembrance of another.
verb
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to present or represent as being worthy of regard, confidence, kindness, etc; recommend
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to give in charge; entrust
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to express a good opinion of; praise
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to give the regards of
commend me to your aunt
Synonym Usage
See approve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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commendablenessnoun
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commendernoun
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overcommendverb (used with object)
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commendableadjective
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commendatoryadjective
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commendablyadverb
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commendinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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commendsimple
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commendssimple
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have commendedperfect
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has commendedperfect
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am commendingprogressive
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are commendingprogressive
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is commendingprogressive
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have been commendingperfect progressive
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has been commendingperfect progressive
Past
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commendedsimple
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had commendedperfect
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was commendingprogressive
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were commendingprogressive
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had been commendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English commenden, from Latin commendāre, equivalent to com- com- + -mendāre, combining form of mandāre; see mandate
Explanation
Have you ever shouted "Bravo!" at the end of a play or cooed "Good boy!" to the dog when he followed a command? Then you know how to commend someone — in other words, to express approval aloud. The most common meaning of commend is "to compliment." You commend someone when you tell them "Well done!" You can even say "I commend you on your hard work." Back in the days of Charles Dickens, commend often meant to put (someone or something) in the hands of someone else for safekeeping. Case in point: David Copperfield was out of luck when his cruel stepdad commended him to the equally cruel schoolmaster Mr. Creakle at Salem house.
Vocabulary lists containing commend
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
We commend Mary Marslender for her dedicated advocacy on behalf of patients with disabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“The fact that you cannot come out of hunting feeling unambiguously good about it,” Mr. Pollan once wrote in an essay, “is perhaps what should commend the practice” to meat eaters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
"It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the Afcon, which has been a major moment for African football."
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
“I commend President Trump for taking decisive action and pray for our brave men and women throughout the region working to keep us all safe,” Valadao wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
“Fadi jaan, I commend you for your desire to find Mariam,” said Habib softly.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Ockenden said she "commends the secretary of state" for "making the right decision from the families' perspective".
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
There is an amiability to Mr. Dale’s voice, though, that commends him both to the ear and to the material.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
In a statement, the management said it "welcomes the release of its editor and commends the courtesy, professionalism, and attentiveness demonstrated by investigators throughout the process".
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
She commends his dedication and will to sustain his operations almost single-handedly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2024
Sir Joshua Reynolds commends a picture of a moonlight scene by Rubens, which is so rich in colour, that if you hide the moon it appears like a sunset.
From Colour as a Means of Art Being an Adaption of the Experience of Professors to the Practice of Amatures by Howard, Frank
Later that year, he was commended for withdrawing encircled Ukrainian units from a border area of the Luhansk region.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
A van driver who gave a lift to an armed police officer has been commended for helping catch a fleeing suspect.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Danielle Allen is to be commended for her own act of resistance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers commended the students for objecting “in a manner that reflects the importance of civic engagement and respectful discourse.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
He commended her on her thoroughness, but said the idea of presenting a subject is the ability to focus.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Around a week later while speaking to steelworkers in Georgia, Trump praised the PC maker’s chief executive, commending Michael Dell and his wife for jump-starting the ‘Trump Accounts’ program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
He even shouted out Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day, commending the “steadfast devotion to Mary that originated in the heart of Mexico.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
This leaves us torn between wanting to make jokes about her for not knowing this was in the bill or commending her for owning up to it and appropriately criticizing it.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2025
While commending the fact that these issues are finally being treated seriously, Mr Fotheringham believes it will take years to drag Australia out of a housing crisis that has been building for decades.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2025
Before commending himself to his destiny, however, the astronaut implored the engineers to execute one more check: a review of the orbital trajectory that had been generated by the IBM 7090 computer.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
