What's the difference between congratulate and felicitate?

Congratulate


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To address with expressions of sympathetic pleasure on account of some happy event affecting the person addressed; to wish joy to.
  • (v. i.) To express of feel sympathetic joy; as, to congratulate with one's country.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) "I wish he were alive so that I could hear his mellifluous voice at the other end of the phone offering me congratulations in his courtly way."
  • (2) "Congratulations to the Greek government," newscaster Antonis Alafogiorgos said toward the end of ERT's main TV live broadcast.
  • (3) It sounds like self-congratulation for disbelieving incorrect forecasts of rain, then proudly stepping into a hailstorm without an umbrella.
  • (4) 4th Round roundup If the MLS sides who negotiated the 3rd round of the US Open Cup were congratulating themselves on the assumption that normal service would now be resumed, there were a few red faces in Round 4.
  • (5) Congratulating Mr Rabin and Mr Arafat on having the courage to change, a Clintonite speciality, he went on: 'Above all, let us dedicate ourselves to your region's next generation.
  • (6) This year though, the annual fest of tit tape, weepy self-congratulation and sheer star power will be remembered for more than a frock faux pas: there was a serious cock-up .
  • (7) Breivik, for instance, congratulated himself in his manifesto for becoming a “self-financed and self-indoctrinated single individual attack cell”.
  • (8) Steffen Seibert, the German government spokesman has tweeted: "Gluckwuensch an die EU zum Friedensnobelpreis" - congratulations to the EU for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • (9) • The Department for Education says plans to “change the way the performance tables are calculated” will deter schools from doing this in the future Congratulations to all the students and teachers who picked up their results today – and the best of luck with whatever you hope to do next.
  • (10) UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler was quick to congratulate the Presidential Council on nominating a new cabinet.
  • (11) 3.41am GMT David Lengel checks out David Lengel (@LengelDavid) Congratulations to the Boston #RedSox#WorldSeries champions!
  • (12) University websites wallowed in self-congratulation in the wake of the REF, where experts assessed research in 36 subject areas, looking at quality, the infrastructure that supported it, and its impact on the outside world.
  • (13) Cameron sought to build bridges by insisting earlier that there would be "no celebrating, no congratulations" if the British public rejects AV.
  • (14) He congratulated the citizens on defending themselves from the "inyenzi" (cockroaches) and told them to keep up the good work.
  • (15) 10.13am BST This from Gerard Kelly, editor of the Times Educational Supplement Firstly, we congratulate all schools and pupils who have worked hard and secured fantastic results today.
  • (16) I congratulate the Observer on the campaign to allow more visiting time for family members, friends and carers on behalf of those with dementia when admitted to hospital (“ Giving a voice to UK’S dementia sufferers and their loved ones ”, last week).
  • (17) So while the Turkish parliament congratulated itself on a long night’s defence of democracy, many wonder why its members connived in the decline of the rule of law.
  • (18) Schools in Hampshire had had one of their most successful years academically, with 84% of schools judged good or outstanding, and the authority had been congratulated by the prime minister for its work with schools in neighbouring authorities.
  • (19) He revealed he had since been sent a letter by Aitken congratulating him on his award.
  • (20) "More than anything I want to congratulate the players.

Felicitate


Definition:

  • (a.) Made very happy.
  • (v. t.) To make very happy; to delight.
  • (v. t.) To express joy or pleasure to; to wish felicity to; to call or consider (one's self) happy; to congratulate.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The President's Biomedical Research Panel is the first high-level government body to take note of what it has felicitously called the "precipitous decline" in research support of the National Institute of Mental Health.
  • (2) The unveiling frequently effects a felicitous atmosphere, because they perceive a relatively normal-looking ear.
  • (3) The death in 1986 of her sister, Felicite, with whom she shared her house, was a terrible blow, plunging her into depression.
  • (4) The authors speculate that the success of the crisis group can be attributed to the felicitous characteristics of the patients and to the group structure and function, which provided an excellent vehicle for crisis intervention management.
  • (5) With felicitous timing, London's Royal Court theatre is staging Richard Bean's hilarious if chaotic play, Heretic, about a university department eager for a grant from a multinational company and ready to suppress academic rigour to do so.
  • (6) In my opinion, a self psychological interpretation offers the more felicitous fit than the classic oedipal interpretation.
  • (7) The author illuminates some of these issues by relating milestones in the development of microscopy--optical as well as electron--and gives a snapshot picture of the recent work at Stanford University on the acoustic microscope as a felicitous instance of physics applied to the ever-present desire of mankind: to explore the unknown and to understand nature.
  • (8) The challenge of teaching clinical administration can felicitously be met by the ward director of the psychiatric inpatient ward.
  • (9) The present paper shows that the choice of this term was not felicitous, and suggests an alternative.
  • (10) It may be merely felicitous coincidence but the sarsen circle of Stonehenge shares a diameter of approximately 100ft with the dome of St Paul's and the Globe theatre.
  • (11) Although the dry wit and felicitous phraseology were still much in evidence, this work struck a more sombre note.
  • (12) The people who have been told to move to make room for the world’s biggest reflector may not see it this way, but the new 500-metre telescope is not just a tool for tuning in to the distant universe: it is a felicitous examplar of the grand vision.
  • (13) Updated at 7.21pm BST 6.46pm BST Bien joué, Angela France eagerly wanted to be the first to congratulate Merkel on her victory, et voilà... Grands felicitations Angelique Chrisafis in Paris writes: Francois Hollande, whose advisors had hinted he was likely to be the first world leader to congratulate Angela Merkel, has called her and invited her to Paris for talks as soon as the new government is formed.
  • (14) There is felicitous news if you are one of those people grimly aware that we are all Simon Cowell's children now: we're getting a sibling.
  • (15) The special requirements of the hearing prostheses are discussed with respect to the operation of each device, and the choice of the peak picker is found to be felicitous in this application.
  • (16) The elements that led to the change in the patients described include a defective self-representation and a motivation to achieve an ideal self-representation; a decision to test the self-representation through an action in real life; the felicitous presence of an important object who contributed to the consolidation of a new self-representation in the context of the test; and identification with this object.
  • (17) Jane and Bingley live just 30 miles away, Mrs Bennet remains at a conveniently inconvenient distance, and all is highly felicitous – until the night when a carriage careens out of the wind-lashed darkness and disgorges Elizabeth's wayward sister, Lydia, screaming that her husband, the nefarious Wickham, is dead.