congratulatory letter
1
3.4
- noun
- Formal
- MENC received congratulatory letters from Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine and Virginia U.S. Senator James Webb following the awards announcement.
- received a congratulatory letter
- read a congratulatory letter
Examples
-
After winning the national award, she received a congratulatory letter from the mayor praising her achievement.
-
Occasionally, congratulatory letters have been received from the Scientific Editors.
Academic text (1996) -
I have some friends who are grumbling about Cardinal Dolan's congratulatory letter to President Obama.
Blog text (20) -
I used the opportunity presented by my congratulatory letter to Minister Wilhelm Frick, whom I know personally, to also let him know that you and I will be happy to advise him regarding the scientific institutes under his authority.
Academic text (2004) -
The company sent a congratulatory letter to its employee who had just completed a significant project ahead of schedule.
-
He was delighted to find a congratulatory letter waiting for him from his former professor after he graduated with honors.
Synonyms
300
1.6
A polite remark that praises someone or something
134
3.4
Public praise for someone's achievement or effort
65
5.3
Praise and respect people give for doing something well
62
4.5
To praise someone in public with great excitement for their success
51
2.5
Short praise said about someone to help them be chosen for something
37
6.8
An official award or letter praising someone for good work
10
1.3
Words said or written to show you are happy for someone's success
1
8.3
Words or actions showing congratulations to someone on a special occasion
1
2.6
A formal letter that praises someone's success or achievement
Antonyms
How Official
- Formal
19
5.5
328
2.7
- Formal
37
6.8
- Formal
1
3.4
- Informal
10
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an official letter written to acknowledge and celebrate someone's achievements' is directly and transparently derived from 'congratulatory' (expressing congratulations) + 'letter' (a written message). This compositional, literal relation follows normal adjective + noun patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase congratulatory letter comes from the simple idea of sending a written note to praise someone. People would send a letter that says 'well done' after a big success, so today a congratulatory letter means an official note that 'celebrates' or 'congratulates' someone's achievement.