Commendation

//ˌkɒmənˈdeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of commending; praise; favorable representation in words; recommendation. countable, uncountable

    "letter of commendation"

  2. 2
    a message expressing a favorable opinion wordnet
  3. 3
    That which is the ground of approbation or praise. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement wordnet
  5. 5
    A message of affection or respect; compliments; greeting. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    An award or recognition for performance; a medal. countable, uncountable

    "The officer received a commendation for bravery."

Example

More examples

"Tom received a commendation for bravery for rescuing a woman from a burning house."

Etymology

From Middle English commendacioun, from Old French commendacion (“approval, praise”), from Latin commendatio (“recommendation, commendation”), from commendare.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.