congratulations letter
- noun
- Formal
- She cherished the congratulations letter her colleagues wrote to celebrate her promotion.
Examples
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"How she reacted when Andrew Clements wrote her a congratulations letter:
Fiction book (2002) -
After winning the championship, the coach received a formal congratulations letter from the school board.
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The mayor sent a congratulations letter to the local hero for their bravery during the crisis.
Synonyms
Words said or written to show you are happy for someone's success
Public praise for someone's achievement or effort
An official award or letter praising someone for good work
A short sign that shows you notice or thank someone
Words or actions showing congratulations to someone on a special occasion
A formal letter praising someone for an important success
Awards or praise given for success
Words you say to show you are happy about someone's good news
Antonyms
How Official
- Formal
- Formal
- Formal
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an official letter recognizing and honoring someone's achievements' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'congratulations' (expressing praise) with 'letter' (a written message); a learner who knows both words can infer it easily. This compositional pattern (a message containing congratulations) is common across languages and follows normal noun–noun compounding, so it should be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun congratulations letter comes from the simple image of writing a letter that says congratulations after someone has done something great. So, it now means an official letter that 'recognizes' and 'honors' someone's achievement.