compliment

B1 Topic:Describing People

US /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ UK /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/ See IPA manual

Homophones

complement /ˈkɑmpləmənt/

Freq #5001

Meanings

1

noun
Something nice you say to praise or admire someone.

She paid me a lovely compliment about my cooking.
2

verb
To say something nice to someone to praise or admire them.

The professor complimented the student on her last paper.
3

noun
Polite or flattering language said out of courtesy.

His kind words were just a compliment and not entirely sincere.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to say something nice to... congratulate

More praise

Opposites

insult

Word family

Forms complimentedcomplimentingcompliments

Derived forms accomplimentcomplimentablecomplimentalcomplimentarycomplimentativecomplimenteecomplimentercomplisultmiscomplimentoutcomplimentovercomplimentpseudo-compliment

Related forms complement

Etymology

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.

compliment French complimento Italian cumplimiento Spanish complēmentum Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# compliment

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑmpləmənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/
**Frequency rank:** 5001

## Meanings
1. Something nice you say to praise or admire someone.
2. To say something nice to someone to praise or admire them.
3. Polite or flattering language said out of courtesy.

## Examples
- She paid me a lovely compliment about my cooking.
- The professor complimented the student on her last paper.
- His kind words were just a compliment and not entirely sincere.

## Synonyms
- praise

## Antonyms
- insult

## Derived Forms
- accompliment
- complimentable
- complimental
- complimentary
- complimentative
- complimentee
- complimenter
- complisult
- miscompliment
- outcompliment
- overcompliment
- pseudo-compliment

## Related Forms
- complement

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: compliment
- Root: complimento
- Root: cumplimiento
- Root: complēmentum

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
compliment is a verb and noun. It was 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. Historical forms in the chain include compliment (French), complimento (Italian), cumplimiento (Spanish), and complēmentum (Latin). Current senses include something nice you say to praise or admire someone, to say something nice to someone to praise or admire them, and polite or flattering language said out of courtesy. Derived forms include accompliment, complimentable, complimental, complimentary, and complimentative. Related words include complement.

## Topics
- Describing People

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compliment

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