verb

• 1Praise formally or officially.

  ‘he was commended by the judge for his courageous actions’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Senior control operators are now looking at the possibility of officially commending Fiona for her efforts.’
  • ‘Restored Victorian buildings and innovative new designs have been officially commended in a town watchdog's annual awards.’
  • ‘Fire officers plan to officially commend Jonathan for his bravery.’
  • ‘An aspect commended and praised only last year by the senior chief inspector of schools, in a report on school standards.’
  • ‘When good decisions are taken people get praised and they get commended, and rightly so.’
  • ‘Stuart gave evidence at the trial and was commended by the judge for his ‘quite extraordinary’ actions.’
  • ‘The judge commended Hazel for the degree of detailed information in her project.’
  • ‘The use of longer words is probably rewarded, praised or at least commended.’
  • ‘She said: ‘I enjoy my job so it's an honour to be commended for doing something I love.’’
  • ‘The judge surprisingly commends him for his fine civic performance and bids him continue with his good work.’
  • ‘He should be commended and judges in other former dictatorships should follow his lead.’
  • ‘You've also been a great help and even an inspiration to many people, and I commend you and actually admire you for that.’
  • ‘A York youngster who helped to rescue a woman from a burning flat has been commended for his bravery by the city's most senior judge.’
  • ‘However, I think she holds her own well, and I commend her for taking a role in such a challenging film.’
  • ‘I commend the Government and the officials responsible.’
  • ‘The film's cast is acquitted, and most are commended for fine work.’
  • ‘Judge Hastie greeted me warmly in his chambers and commended me on my academic achievement.’
  • ‘I wanted to commend you on your excellent review of the film, and the moving artistic commentary.’
  • ‘Well done on a presentation of excellence - all involved are to be commended.’
  • ‘She commended the staff and students for their commitment to recycling.’

  Synonyms

  praise, compliment, congratulate, applaud, clap, cheer, toast, salute, admire, honour, glorify, extol, eulogize, sing the praises of, praise to the skies, heap praise on, go into raptures about, wax lyrical about, speak highly of, look on with favour, pay homage to, pay tribute to, take one's hat off to, pat on the back

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• 2Present as suitable for approval or acceptance; recommend.

  ‘I commend her to you without reservation’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Cynical consultants would expect the Department of Health to suggest such a move, but it is quite astonishing that the BMA should not just suggest but commend this to us and at standard rates of pay.’
  • ‘With those few remarks, I commend the revised Standing Orders and the committee's recommendation to this House.’
  • ‘It is not one that commended itself to the judge originally dealing with the paper application.’
  • ‘Your Honour, what has just fallen from your Honour is exactly what commended itself to the learned President.’
  • ‘I thank the select committee for its consideration of the bill, and I commend the committee's report to the House.’
  • ‘I applaud the work that has been done by the select committee, and I commend this work, as it is shaped, to the House.’
  • ‘I commend this bill, as reported back from the select committee, to the House.’
  • ‘With that, I commend it very firmly to the Committee.’
  • ‘A decision is expected to be made in early July when the Prime Minster commends his choice to the Queen.’
  • ‘We get to that point in racing that commends horses to us by their winning or at least giving it their best shot.’
  • ‘We commend our readers to the advertisement which appears in this issue.’
  • ‘We commend this constitution to the Prime Minister, his Cabinet, the opposition, the judiciary and all Government officials.’
  • ‘I commend this motion to the House as a declaration of support for the McCartney family and their pursuit for justice.’
  • ‘I commend the story to your attention, for no reason other than that I think it's funny.’
  • ‘We commend the book to your attention and will provide our own take on it as soon as we have had a chance to read it.’
  • ‘I commend this suggestion to your readers, to the national park, and to the owners of the site.’
  • ‘Your reviewer commends the book to the reader of these pages.’
  • ‘This reviewer accepts that conclusion and commends the book to readers with three observations.’
  • ‘But on the other hand, what commends us to God is not how good we are, because we just can't be good enough.’
  • ‘Her gentle, good humoured and obliging nature, mild manner and unassuming disposition commended her to all fortunate enough to make her acquaintance.’

  Synonyms

  recommend, suggest, put forward, propose, advance

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  1. 2.1Make (something) acceptable or pleasing.
     ‘the emphasis on peace will commend itself to all’
     More example sentences

     • ‘most one-roomed flats have little to commend them’
     • ‘Nevertheless, the claims which the Secretary-General was making surely have quite a lot to commend them.’
     • ‘It has a lot of opportunity and a lot to commend it.’
     • ‘Neither view commends itself very strongly to the present author.’
     • ‘The red pulse of the watchtower/lighthouse glows over the darkening scene, and this is what particularly commended the setting to Jan Kott, at a past performance which began at dusk.’

• 3commend someone/something toarchaic, formal Entrust someone or something to.

  ‘as they set out on their journey I commend them to your care’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I commended my soul to God and said in a quaking voice, ‘Yes.’’
  • ‘And like untold hundreds of men and woman have done throughout the Conference's 57-year history, I closed my eyes, commended my soul to God, and accepted the invitation.’
  • ‘Mr. O'Neal thanked God for the life of the deceased and the service he rendered and commended his soul to God.’
  • ‘There is something right about commending the body to the care of the earth, letting the earth from which we came work its quiet dissolution.’
  • ‘At the end of Jesus' life his commended his spirit to God.’
  • ‘I was so hoping I was on my way out, that I commended my spirit to death and passed out.’
  • ‘I commend the guidelines to you as a practical tool to assist you in preventing discrimination happening and for dealing with it if it does occur.’
  • ‘We commend Jim to these things, to a God who loves him and welcomes him home, to a God who loves us and welcomes us home.’
  • ‘Farewell, Julia Child, I commend you to the place of happy memories for my generation, Rest In Peace.’
  • ‘In the case of the dead, we commend them to the mercy of God (as the Pope did) and ask that he judge them mercifully.’

  Synonyms

  entrust, trust, deliver, commit, hand over, give, give over, turn over, consign, assign

  View synonyms

  1. 3.1commend someone toPass on someone's good wishes to.
     ‘commend me to my son, and bid him rule better than I’
     More example sentences

     • ‘And for this I commend them to their station commander.’
     • ‘My dear and well beloved father, I commend me to you, doing you to wit that I have but a little while to go and am like within a short time with the grace of God to be delivered of child.’
     • ‘When her Son saw her and his other friends weeping with a tearful voice he commended her to John.’
     • ‘Let not my disappearance upset you at all, for I am hurrying off to commend you to Christ.’
     • ‘Please commend me to my cousin.’