From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcommendcom‧mend /kəˈmend/ ●○○ verb [transitive] formal 1 PRAISEto praise or approve of someone or something publiclycommend somebody for something Inspector Marshall was commended for his professional attitude. The paper was highly commended in the UK Press Awards.► see thesaurus at praise2 PRAISEto tell someone that something is good or that it deserves attention SYN recommend Colleagues, I commend this report to you. McKellen’s performance had much to commend it (=was very good).3 → commend itself (to somebody)→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
commend• The leadership Rodriguez displayed is to be commended.• The committee has commended achievement tests every four years.• Hospital staff commended another canoeist who took a strap from his own craft to make a sling.• The priest stepped forward to bless Tom's body and commend it to God.• Despite my reservations about some aspects of the book, I do believe that it has much to commend it.• The judge commended not only his elegant and thorough analysis but also his lucid exposition of the work.• Behavior is to be commended only if it is more than merely commendable.• I commend the Bill to the House.• But there's still plenty to commend the book.• I commend the politicians of Northern Ireland for doing that.• He said he commended their guest for her knowledge of Neapolitan art which no doubt surpassed that of most Neapolitans.highly commended• Bartholomew's work in the field of physics has been highly commended.• It has been highly commended by Citalia guests for its hospitality and good, varied cuisine.• The restoration was singled out for praise in 1986 when it was highly commended by the Association of Railway Preservation Societies.had much to commend it• Ian McKellen's performance, too, had much to commend it.Origin commend (1300-1400) Latin commendare, from com- ( → COM-) + mandare “to give over to someone” 