How to use compliment in a sentence
40 example sentences · noun, verb
Compliment means an expression of praise, congratulation, or respect. Example: “He’s so narcissistic! He whines that he’s ugly and unlikeable just to fish for compliments.”
Examples of compliment by meaning
nounAn expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
- pay someone a compliment
More sentences with compliment
- He’s so narcissistic! He whines that he’s ugly and unlikeable just to fish for compliments.From the entry fish for compliments
- Although our team lost, we were complimented by everyone on our batsmanship.From the entry batsmanship
- Would it break your back to pay me a compliment once in a while?From the entry break someone's back
- She turned ablush when she received the unexpected compliment.From the entry ablush
- The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments.From the entry fish
- I presented my compliments to Lady Featherstoneshaw.From the entry present
- He was liberal with his compliments.From the entry liberal
- An underhanded compliment is actually criticism.From the entry underhanded
- "Nixonian" is a phrase in government that is almost never intended as a compliment.2025 February 4, Chris Brennan, “Chaos, lawsuits are the point: Trump expects Supreme Court to give him a free pass”, in USA Today…. From the entry Nixonian
- It's a compliment.” “"Sweet cheeks" is your butt.” “No, it's not.” “It is.2022 January 13, James Gunn, “A Whole New Whirled” (26:41 from the start), in Peacemaker, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Peacemaker (John…. From the entry cherubic
- On one FA's answering machine, he says, “Have you complimented a plumpkin today?”2019, Erich Goode, Deviant Behavior. From the entry plumpkin
- He compliments their bravery in stabbing a pregnant woman and her fetus to death.2017 July 16, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and Dragons Come Home to Roost on Game of Thrones (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the…. From the entry keel over
- Then I compliment Mairi Ceit, genuinely, on the striking pink gnomette by her backdoor.2017, Patrick Barkham, Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago, Granta, →ISBN. From the entry gnomette
- If Ditka called you a grabowski, it was a high compliment.2015 September 2, “If Every State Had Its Own Word, Illinois' Would Be... Grabowski?”, in CBS News. From the entry grabowski
- The compliment spread through me like a shot of Southern Comfort, warming my insides.2015 May 26, Mary Carter, Accidentally Engaged, Kensington Books, →ISBN. From the entry Southern Comfort
- Underhanded compliments are, for better or worse, nothing new or unusual.2012, Hanne Blank, The Unapologetic Fat Girl's Guide to Exercise and Other Incendiary Acts, →ISBN, page 56. From the entry underhanded
- If it is a useful action compliment yourself and smile inwardly.2011, Anne Armstrong, Awakening the Divine Within, page 81. From the entry unuseful
- When Clint told him that he said, 'Hey, that's great, thanks Clint,' like it was a compliment.2011, Joseph O'Connor, Cowboys and Indians, page 148. From the entry have Van Gogh's ear for music
- “Good black don't crack,” the late Buck O'Neil liked to joke when people complimented Buck's appearance.2010, Timothy M. Gay, Satch, Dizzy, and Rapid Robert, →ISBN. From the entry good black don't crack
- Axl took this as a back-handed compliment and was momentarily placated.2008, Mick Wall, W.A.R.: The Unauthorized Biography of William Axl Rose, →ISBN, page 121. From the entry back-handed
- Don't mistake this for even a backhanded compliment; that at least takes a wry sense of imagination.2007, Mark Wiskup, The It Factor: Be the One People Like, Listen To, and Remember, →ISBN, page 116. From the entry backhanded
- This is a patronizing compliment, which is worse than no compliment at all.2007, Mark Wiskup, The It Factor: Be the One People Like, Listen To, and Remember, →ISBN, page 116. From the entry backhanded
- The backhandedness of the compliment suddenly struck him, and he squeezed his eyes shut at the gaffe.2007, Graham Clews, Eboracum: The Village, →ISBN, page 98. From the entry backhandedness
- There is slickness in his superpolite Southern charm — the easy, noticing compliments and smile.2002, Myra MacPherson, Long time passing: Vietnam and the haunted generation. From the entry superpolite
- "Oh yes, I meant it as a compliment." Olin tapped the books.1999, Stephen King, 1408. From the entry hack-and-slash
- American adolescents regularly deal in "trade-lasts," compliments in exchange for another.1979, Robert Kirk Mueller, Board Compass, page 102. From the entry trade-last
- In a somewhat left-handed compliment, UN Secretary-General U Thant described Russia's new bosses as "competent and unpretentious."1964 October 30, “The Morning After”, in Time, retrieved 07 Oct 2013. From the entry left-handed compliment
- Columbus smiled at the compliment and snapped inconsequently at a fly.1921, Ethel M. Dell, The Obstacle Race. From the entry inconsequently
- Magnanimous, you paid me the prettiest compliment woman ever paid to man, and I insulted you.1911 October 26, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson, or, An Oxford Love Story, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company…. From the entry kindliest
- Chyna, real name Joanie Laurer, was one of the clockiest cis women in history, and I mean that as a compliment.2022 August 30, Samantha Riedel, “At Wrestle Queerdom, Trans and Nonbinary Wrestlers Ruled the Night”, in Them. From the entry clocky
- The high priest of US arms controllers called me a "nuclear arms agreement hitman," which I took as a compliment.2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, pages 172–173. From the entry hitman
- In certain celebrity-obsessed corners of the Internet, there is no greater compliment than being called a "skinny legend."2019, Andrea Park, “FKA Twigs Calls Out Use of “Problematic” Term “Skinny Legend””, in W Magazine. From the entry skinny legend
- The preparation style should be the same for both proteins so that the side dishes compliment the meal.2015 April 29, Mandy Unanski Enright, “One Meal, Two Proteins”, in Nutrition Nuptials, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2019. From the entry protein
- Traditionally, people gave a compliment first so it would soften the blow of what was to come after.2014, Noah-Jay Michael, Mastering Conversational Hypnosis: Learn the Principles of Hypnotic Language Patterns, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 52. From the entry soften the blow
- He went on to compliment that her hair was lustrous.2013, Billy-John, Cougar Shame. From the entry cherriest
- Even from the start, the greatest compliment that Carles could pay to a song would be to call it “highly bloggable.”2012 January 19, Rob Trump, “Watching Hipster Runoff Eat its Own Tail”, in New York. From the entry bloggable
- I got underbreath compliments from people in reference to my singing, but none of them wanted to know me.2012, Sheila L. Ramsey, Quest For A Gentleman: Sins of the First Freedom, →ISBN. From the entry underbreath
- "Never mind," she ventured, "but thanks for the compliment.2011, Media Lawson-Butler, Thistle in the Wind, page 205. From the entry dusty
- In a backhanded compliment, Markopolos said the SEC is a "bad regulator, but the best of a very sorry lot."2009 February 4, Robert Chew, “A Madoff Whistle-Blower Tells His Story”, in Time, retrieved 07 Oct 2013. From the entry backhanded compliment
Meaning of compliment
- noun An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
- noun Complimentary language; courtesy, flattery.
- verb To pay a compliment (to someone); to express a favourable opinion (of someone).
Questions about compliment in a sentence
- How do you use compliment in a sentence?
- Compliment is used as a noun and verb. For example: “He’s so narcissistic! He whines that he’s ugly and unlikeable just to fish for compliments.”
- What is a short sentence with compliment?
- “pay someone a compliment”
- What does compliment mean?
- Compliment means an expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: compliment (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use compliment in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/compliment. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
