compliment
UK/ˈkɒmplɪmənt//ˈkɑmpləmənt/
compliment noun: an expression of praise, congratulation, or respect. Also the misspelling of complement.
Noun
compliment (plural compliments)
- An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
- pay someone a compliment
- […] I met him
With customary compliment; when he,
Wafting his eyes to the contrary and falling
A lip of much contempt, speeds from me and
So leaves me to consider what is breeding
That changeth thus his manners.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- Complimentary language; courtesy, flattery.
- He told the Captain, He was heartily sorry for his Misfortunes; tho’ in my Opinion that was nothing but a Compliment: For, as I found afterwards, he was more brutish, and dishonest, than most of the other Kings on the Island […]1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, page 25
- This accomplished man condescended to think of a young girl, and take the pains to talk to her, not with absurd compliment, but with an appeal to her understanding, and sometimes with instructive correction.1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter III, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 48
Verb
compliment (third-person singular simple present compliments, present participle complimenting, simple past and past participle complimented)
- To pay a compliment (to someone); to express a favourable opinion (of someone).
- […] She transferr'd the curs'd Advice, / That Monarchs ſhould their inward Soul diſguise, / Diſſemble, and command; be falſe, and wiſe; / By ignominous Arts for ſervile Ends / Should compliment their Foes, and ſhun their Friends.1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, book II (Pleasure), page...
- Antonyms:
- insult
Also used as
compliment is also the misspelling of complement.
compliment meaning in Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic and Thai
compliment in Hindi
- expression of praise, congratulation or respect
- तारीफ़ tārīf, प्रशंसा praśansā
compliment in Sanskrit
- expression of praise, congratulation or respect
- चाटुक्ति cāṭukti, चाटु cāṭu
compliment in Arabic
- expression of praise, congratulation or respect
- مَدْحَة madḥa
- to pay a compliment; to express a favorable opinion
- مَدَحَ madaḥa
compliment in Thai
- expression of praise, congratulation or respect
- คำชมเชย
More languagesFewer languages
- compliment in Vietnamese
- lời khen, khen ngợi, ca tụng
Examples of compliment in a sentence
- He’s so narcissistic! He whines that he’s ugly and unlikeable just to fish for compliments.
- Although our team lost, we were complimented by everyone on our batsmanship.
- Would it break your back to pay me a compliment once in a while?
Synonyms of compliment
Antonyms
Forms of compliment
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | compliments |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | compliments |
| present participle | complimenting |
| past participle | complimented |
| past | complimented |
Origin of compliment
Borrowed from French compliment, itself a borrowing of Italian complimento, which in turn is a borrowing from Spanish cumplimiento, from cumplir (“to comply, complete, do what is proper”) + -miento or Latin complēmentum. Doublet of complement. Displaced Old English ġeswǣsnes.
Borrowed from French complimenter, from compliment + -er (verb-forming suffix).
Words formed from compliment
- accompliment
- backhanded compliment
- backward compliment
- Chinese compliment
- complimental
- complimentary
- compliment fishing
- complisult
- left-handed compliment
- miscompliment
- poisoned compliment
- poisonous compliment
- pseudo-compliment
- with compliments
- complimentable
- complimentative
- complimentee
- complimenter
- outcompliment
- overcompliment
Phrases with compliment
Questions about compliment
- What does compliment mean?
- Compliment means an expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
- What is compliment in Hindi?
- Compliment in Hindi is तारीफ़ (tārīf), प्रशंसा (praśansā). See Compliment meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is compliment?
- Compliment can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce compliment?
- Compliment is pronounced /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ (US).
- What is the plural of compliment?
- The plural of compliment is compliments.
Words near compliment in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: compliment (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-compliment.ogg.
Cite this entry: “compliment.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/compliment. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.