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PlainSpell

commend

/kəˈmɛnd/verb

commend is spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, commend means “To congratulate or reward” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in commend?

Letters7: C-O-M-M-E-N-D
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is commend?

Commend appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce commend?

  • /kəˈmɛnd/

Commend has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-commend.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of commend

  • commends present, singular, he/she/it
  • commending participle, present
  • commended participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does commend mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To congratulate or reward.

    The schoolboy was commended for raising the alarm about the burning building.

  2. 2

    To praise or acclaim.

    The new law has little to commend it: it even worsens the legal certainty of the nation.

  3. 3

    To entrust or commit to the care of someone else.

    After being imprisoned, I had to commend my kids to my mom's safekeeping.

  4. 4

    To mention by way of courtesy, implying remembrance and goodwill; give regards from

  5. 5

    To recommend.

  6. 6

    datedTo adorn; to set off.

noun

  1. 1

    obsoleteCommendation; praise.

  2. 2

    obsoleteCompliments; greetings.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Commend in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchféliciter (to congratulate or reward), louer (to praise), recommander (to entrust)
Germanbelobigen, beglückwünschen (to congratulate or reward), loben (to praise), anvertrauen, vertrauensvoll überlassen, betrauen mit (to entrust)
Portugueseparabenizar, recompensar (to congratulate or reward), elogiar, louvar, encomiar (to praise), recomendar (to entrust)
Spanishcongratular, felicitar, recompensar (to congratulate or reward), alabar, elogiar, loar (to praise)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does commend come from?

From Middle English commenden, from Old French comender, from Latin commendō (“commend, entrust to, commit, recommend”), from com- + mandō (“to commit, intrust, enjoin”), from manus (“hand”) + dō (“to put”). Doublet of command.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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