Deserving praise and commendation; praiseworthy in a measured, considered way

Laudable is praise that has been earned through considered judgment. It’s not gushing or effusive — it’s the considered verdict of someone who has weighed the evidence and concluded that the effort, the aim, or the achievement is genuinely worthy of approval. This measured quality is part of what makes laudable such a useful word: it praises without overselling. A reviewer who calls a novel’s ambition laudable is acknowledging real merit without necessarily claiming the book is a masterpiece. Politicians call opponents’ motives laudable even when disputing their methods. The word creates space for qualified admiration — approval that doesn’t require perfection.

Where you’ll encounter it: Editorial commentary, performance reviews, policy analysis, academic assessments, critical writing

“The government’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 2040 is laudable in its ambition, even if the specific mechanisms proposed remain underdeveloped and underfunded.”

A formal expression of high praise; a speech or piece of writing that extols the virtues and achievements of a person or thing

An encomium is praise with structure and occasion. It isn’t a passing compliment or a considered verdict — it’s a crafted, formal tribute, delivered or written for a specific celebratory purpose. The tradition of the encomium stretches back to ancient Greece, where orators would compose formal speeches praising heroes, cities, and virtues. In modern usage, the word describes any sustained, formal piece of praise — the tribute delivered at a retirement dinner, the laudatory essay in an anniversary publication, the fulsome introduction before a keynote speech. What distinguishes an encomium is its deliberateness: the praise has been organised, rehearsed, and performed.

Where you’ll encounter it: Award ceremonies, commemorative publications, literary tributes, political oratory, academic honours

“The actress received a lengthy encomium from the director who had given her her first role, a tribute that charted her career from its uncertain beginnings to its current, triumphant heights.”

A speech or piece of writing that praises someone highly, typically delivered at a funeral or memorial service in honour of the deceased

A eulogy is praise freighted with loss. While an encomium can be delivered at any celebratory occasion, a eulogy is specifically associated with death and remembrance — it is the tribute that honours a life now completed. This context gives the eulogy its particular emotional register: it must achieve something very difficult, which is to celebrate without diminishing the grief, and to grieve without obscuring the achievement. In broader literary usage, eulogy sometimes describes any sustained written tribute to a person who has died, or even to a way of life, an era, or an institution that has passed away. The word always carries its elegiac undertone.

Where you’ll encounter it: Memorial services, biographical writing, obituaries, commemorative essays, literary tributes to deceased writers or artists

“In the eulogy he delivered at the composer’s funeral, the conductor described a man whose perfectionism had made recording sessions agonising for everyone around him — and whose music had made the agony entirely worthwhile.”

Accorded a great deal of respect, especially by virtue of age, wisdom, character, or long-standing eminence

Venerable is praise that has been accumulated over time. It doesn’t describe a single achievement or moment of distinction but the accumulated weight of a long, distinguished life or history. A venerable institution is one whose age and track record command respect; a venerable scholar is one whose decades of contribution to their field have made them a figure of reverence rather than simply of admiration. The word carries a sense of earned deference: you don’t call someone venerable lightly, because the title implies that their standing has been tested by time and found not just to persist but to deepen.

Where you’ll encounter it: Historical writing, biographical essays, institutional descriptions, religious contexts, cultural commentary

“The venerable professor had been a presence in the department for nearly half a century, and even those who disagreed with his methods acknowledged that his intellectual rigour had shaped an entire generation of researchers.”

Impressively beautiful, magnificent, or splendid in appearance; dazzling with colour, light, or ornament

Resplendent is the most sensory word in this set — it belongs to the eye rather than to the mind. While the other four words in this post describe intellectual or moral praise, resplendent describes visual magnificence of the kind that is immediately, overwhelmingly apparent. The word carries light within it: to be resplendent is to shine, to radiate, to dazzle. It appears in descriptions of pageantry, natural splendour, architectural grandeur, and human beauty at its most spectacular. When writers use resplendent, they’re inviting readers to see something — to share the visual impact of something that demands to be looked at.

Where you’ll encounter it: Travel writing, descriptions of ceremonial occasions, art criticism, fashion writing, literary description

“The cathedral was resplendent in the morning light — its gilded mosaics catching the early sun, its vast nave filled with a warm gold that seemed to transform stone into something almost immaterial.”