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# compliment

noun (a compliment, compliments); verb (compliment, compliments, complimented, complimenting)

«compliment» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A compliment is something nice you say to praise someone or show you admire them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#m1)
2. To compliment someone is to say something nice about them or what they did. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#m2)
3. «Compliments» (formal) means good wishes, as in «with our compliments». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#m3)

### In the lessons

In manners lessons, giving and accepting compliments politely matters: say «thank you» when someone compliments you, and give honest compliments about effort and kindness, not only looks. In stories, compliments show characters being kind, or sometimes a trickster flattering someone to get something. Phrases: «pay someone a compliment», «take it as a compliment», «fish for compliments», «compliment someone on something».

### Examples

- She paid me a compliment about my drawing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x1)
- When someone gives you a compliment, say thank you. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x2)
- He complimented the cook on the delicious meal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x3)
- "You worked really hard" is a good compliment. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x4)
- I'll take that as a compliment! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x5)
- The fox flattered the crow with false compliments. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x6)
- My teacher complimented me on my neat writing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x7)
- Free drinks with the compliments of the hotel. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x8)
- “In a way,” said Smee, “it’s sort of a compliment.” [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/#x9)

### Note

Do not confuse with «complement» (with an e), which means something that goes well with something else or completes it; and in maths, complementary angles add up to 90°. Trick: a compliment says «I like» — both have i. Flattery is false or exaggerated praise used to get something.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «compliment» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compliment/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«compliment» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/compliment.html) on Mova free.