congratulations letter
1
2.6
- 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.
-
The mayor sent a congratulations letter to the local hero for their bravery during the crisis.
Synonyms
898
1.1
Words you say to show you are happy about someone's good news
134
3.4
Public praise for someone's achievement or effort
37
6.8
An official award or letter praising someone for good work
27
3.7
A short sign that shows you notice or thank someone
10
1.3
Words said or written to show you are happy for someone's success
6
5.1
Awards or praise given for success
1
8.3
Words or actions showing congratulations to someone on a special occasion
1
3.4
A formal letter praising someone for an important success
Antonyms
How Official
328
2.7
- Formal
19
5.5
- Formal
37
6.8
- Formal
1
2.6
- Informal
10
1.0
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.