congratulation

[ kuhn-grach-uh-ley-shuhnor, often, -graj-, kuhng- ]

noun

1. the act of congratulating.
2. congratulations, an expression of joy in the success or good fortune of another.

interjection

1. congratulations, (used to express joy in the success or good fortune of another):

   Congratulations! You have just won the lottery!

Other Words From

• con·gratu·lation·al adjective
• precon·gratu·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of congratulation¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin congrātulātiōn- (stem of congrātulātiō ), equivalent to congrātulāt ( us ) ( congratulate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Long, the Nationals’ hitting coach, texted him to say congratulations.

From Washington Post

As he approached second base on his home run trot, stoic — Aaron might have smiled slightly — he slapped hands with Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes, who offered congratulations.

From Time

If you're a big company because everyone likes your stuff best, well, you're a big company, congratulations.

From Ars Technica

Do this 10 or 20 times and, if your technique is good, then congratulations—you’ve just made the thinnest known material, and almost the strongest.

From Fortune

Frank Borman did not expect to hear a congratulations from Chuck Yeager one day in 1962—and that’s just as well because he didn’t get one.

From Time

Let Jourdan Dunn be the first of many—not an island, or badge of self-congratulation.

From The Daily Beast

Also missing, thankfully, is the sense of entitlement and self-congratulation one finds in the Bay Area.

From The Daily Beast

Chronic partisan bickering largely gave way to a rare moment of well-deserved self-congratulation.

From The Daily Beast

I offered him my hand in congratulation, and he seized and shook it like the good-natured fool he was—or pretended to be.

From The Daily Beast

But in an era when Washington can barely keep its doors open, some congratulation is in order.

From The Daily Beast

Pay visits, both of condolence and congratulation, within a week after the event which calls for them occurs.

From Project Gutenberg

In visits of congratulation, go in, and be hearty in your expressions of interest and sympathy.

From Project Gutenberg

Letters of Congratulation demand a cheerful, pleasant style, and an appearance of great interest.

From Project Gutenberg

What a bound Ethel's heart gave, and how full of congratulation and sympathy was the pressure of Margaret's hand!

From Project Gutenberg

Once outside the court-room, however, what a storm and tumult of congratulation awaited them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• applause
• commendation
• felicitation
• salute