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Congratulate   /kəngrˈætʃəlˌeɪt/   Listen
verb
Congratulate  v. t.  (past & past part. congratulated; pres. part. congratulating)  To address with expressions of sympathetic pleasure on account of some happy event affecting the person addressed; to wish joy to. "It is the king's most sweet pleasure and affection to congratulate the princess at her pavilion."
To congratulate one's self, to rejoice; to feel satisfaction; to consider one's self happy or fortunate.
Synonyms: To Congratulate, Felicitate. To felicitate is simply to wish a person joy. To congratulate has the additional signification of uniting in the joy of him whom we congratulate. Hence they are by no means synonymous. One who has lost the object of his affections by her marriage to a rival, might perhaps felicitate that rival on his success, but could never be expected to congratulate him on such an event. "Felicitations are little better than compliments; congratulations are the expression of a genuine sympathy and joy."



Congratulate  v. i.  To express of feel sympathetic joy; as, to congratulate with one's country. (R.) "The subjects of England may congratulate to themselves."






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Congratulate" Quotes from Famous Books



... youthful idiom, now spoke with impressive solemnity,—"the balance," he said, "one hundred thousand in money and securities, and the house at Scarford, which is valued, I believe, at thirty-five thousand more, she leaves to you, as her only other relative, Captain Dott. I am here to congratulate you and to offer you my services and those of the firm, should you ...
— Cap'n Dan's Daughter • Joseph C. Lincoln

... "Congratulate me," he often says to Ivan Dmitritch; "I have been presented with the Stanislav order of the second degree with the star. The second degree with the star is only given to foreigners, but for some reason they want to make an exception for ...
— The Horse-Stealers and Other Stories • Anton Chekhov

... Friend alone and Thoughtful? say for what? That you alone appear with Discontent, When all my Friends Congratulate my Bliss? Is it because (which I durst ne're suspect) Your Love to me was not intirely true? Or else perhaps, this Crown of Happiness You think Misplac'd, ...
— The City Bride (1696) - Or The Merry Cuckold • Joseph Harris

... seriously injured, and one of them rushed forward and held the animal's head to prevent further mischief; but the only damage done was to our overalls, on which the marks of the pony's hoofs remained as a record of the event. On reaching the landing-place the passengers all came forward to congratulate us on our lucky escape, and until they separated we were the heroes of the hour, and ...
— From John O'Groats to Land's End • Robert Naylor and John Naylor

... Street, after a short absence from the house, the door was precipitately opened to me by Minna. Before she could say a word, her face told me the joyful news. Before I could congratulate her, Fritz himself burst headlong into the hall, and made one of his desperate attempts at embracing me. This time I succeeded (being the shorter man of the two) in slipping through his arms in the ...
— Jezebel • Wilkie Collins


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