Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To congratulate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To congratulate; express joy to or on account of.
  • To recompense; remunerate.
  • To rejoice; express pleasure.
  • Gratifying; to be rejoiced at; felicitous.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb rare To salute with declaration of joy; to congratulate.
  • adjective obsolete Worthy of gratulation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb archaic to congratulate
  • adjective obsolete Worthy of gratulation.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin grātulārī, grātulāt-, from grātārī, to rejoice with, from grātus, pleasing; see grateful.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin congrātŭlor

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Examples

  • July 17, 2008 at 3:56 pm an, an, we duzznt use dat werd…………. we say “nawt second” wen we gratulate teh “nawt second” peeps………. nebber use teh “f” werd…..

    dude, dat spider wuz huge - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • Permit me to con-gratulate you upon a most remarkable scientific discovery.

    The Fuzzy Papers Piper, H. Beam 1962

  • 'I am an Osbaldistone like yourself,' replied the stranger suavely; 'we are the last of the ancient house that bears upon its chevron the spear and spurs (mullets), so when I heard of your good fortune I thought it but polite to call and gratulate you on your succession.'

    Border Ghost Stories Howard Pease

  • The first flush of his unaccustomed libations seemed to have worn itself out, his more recent draught to have had no other effect than to steady his gratulate senses; and a certain solid comfort resided in the knowledge that his hard-earned five dollars reposed in safe deposit.

    The Day of Days An Extravaganza Louis Joseph Vance 1906

  • And being fearefull that others of his quality had beene of the same nature and condition, and finding you, on the contrary, so carefull and industrious, so serious and laborious to doe the author all the rights of the presse, I could not choose but gratulate your honest indeavours with this short remembrance.

    Literary Blunders; A chapter in the "History of Human Error" 1893

  • It must be remembered also, to Dryden's honour, that he was the first to hail the dawn of experimental philosophy in physics; to gratulate his country on possessing Bacon,

    The Dramatic Works of John Dryden Scott, Walter, Sir 1882

  • Shadwell, moreover, had not failed to hail the dawn of the Revolution by a congratulatory poem to the Prince of Orange, and to gratulate its completion by another inscribed to Queen Mary on her arrival.

    The Dramatic Works of John Dryden Scott, Walter, Sir 1882

  • And being fearefull that others of his quality had beene of the same nature and condition, and finding you, on the contrary, so carefull and industrious, so serious and laborious to doe the author all the rights of the presse, I could not choose but gratulate your honest indeavours with this short remembrance.

    Literary Blunders Henry Benjamin Wheatley 1877

  • If you really have "gone and done it" allow me to con = gratulate you on your choice and to wish you and your bride a happy voyage together down the stream of life, together with the "little res = ponsibilities".

    Letter to Henry A. Bitner 1863

  • If you really have "gone and done it" allow me to con = gratulate you on your choice and to wish you and your bride a happy voyage together down the stream of life, together with the "little res = ponsibilities".

    Franklin County: David R. P. Shoemaker to Henry A. Bitner, March 21, 1863 David R. P. Shoemaker 1863

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