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paean

paean

4 9.9
A song, speech, or piece of writing that gives strong praise
  • noun
  • /ˈpiːən/
  • Literature
: canto de alabanza
  • Queen City is a paean to Buffalo and the people who live here.

Examples

  • Her discussion of the city in the profile became a paean to a form.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Many artists have created paeans to celebrate the importance of love in human life.

  • The series finale was a paean to love and individual fulfillment.

    Academic text (2005)
  • In short, the essay is a paean to wealth, which became for its author a synonym for power and freedom.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The card is a paean to what European occupation has wrought: a booming copper industry, European-style shops, and automobiles.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Christian moralists took his paintings as manifestations of biblical beliefs; secular leftists took them as humanistic paeans to the working poor.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The poet's latest work is a paean honoring the beauty of nature and its many wonders.

  • The speech delivered at the award ceremony was a heartfelt paean to the achievements of the honorees.

Synonyms

anthem
vspaean
120 3.5

A song for a country, school, or religion that shows love and loyalty

is typically a triumph or religious praise song not limited to nations
eulogy
vspaean
60 6.8

A speech or piece of writing that praises someone who died

is used for triumphant praise and ritual thanks rather than funerary words
praise
vspaean
36 3.9

Words or actions showing respect for a god

is a specific celebratory expression often musical and tied to triumph
encomium
vspaean
  • Formal
1 9.9

A speech or piece of writing that praises someone highly

is more commonly musical or celebratory rather than a formal written praise
panegyric
vspaean
  • Formal
1 9.9

A public speech or writing that praises someone very much

is usually a musical or triumphant praise often tied to ritual thanks
pean
vspaean
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A song that praises a god, often sung in ancient Greece

is identical in meaning but is a spelling variant used in some texts

Antonyms

649 3.0

Disapproval that points out faults

11 7.4

A public statement that strongly criticizes someone or something

How Praiseful

panegyric
  • Formal
1 9.9
paean
  • Literature
4 9.9
tribute
256 4.5
praise
220 1.0
compliment
300 1.6

Surface Forms

paean singular
paeans plural

Etymology

The word paean comes from the ancient Greek paian, which was a public song to thank a god or to celebrate a victory. So a paean today is like an 'anthem' or 'song of praise', a warm and enthusiastic tribute.