What does "gratulate" mean?

To express joy at (an event or situation).

What is a synonym for "gratulate"?

Common synonyms include: bless, compliment, pat on the back.

Pronounced //ˈɡɹætjʊleɪt//.

//ˈɡɹætjʊleɪt// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Verb

1
To express joy at (an event or situation). archaic
"To gratify the good Andronicus, / And gratulate his safe return to Rome, / The people will accept whom he admits."
2
To greet, welcome, salute. archaic
"Queen Elizabeth. […] Whither away? / Lady Anne. No farther than the Tower; and, as I guess, / Upon the like devotion as yourselves, / To gratulate the gentle princes there."

Adjective

1
Worthy of gratulation. obsolete
"Thanks, good friend Escalus, for thy much goodness: There’s more behind that is more gratulate."

"To gratify the good Andronicus, / And gratulate his safe return to Rome, / The people will accept whom he admits."

First attested circa 1567; borrowed from Latin grātulātus, perfect active participle of grātulor, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

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