What does commendable mean?
Word: Commendable
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Commendable means good enough to deserve praise and approval, often for the effort or care shown.
Synonyms: praiseworthy
How do you spell commendable?
Syllables: com - mend - a - ble
Tricky part: The m is doubled. Many students hear only one m and write comendable.
Watch out for: comendable, commedable
Memory tip: Picture two mountains standing side by side and cheering: they are the two m's near the start of the word.
Commendable in a sentence
Example 1: Meera's effort to teach her grandmother to use a smartphone was commendable.
Example 2: The judges said the team's spirit was commendable, even though they came third.
Example 3: It is commendable that the shopkeeper ran after the little boy to return his extra change.
Fun Fact
Commend and command grew from the same Latin verb, mandare, 'to entrust'; over the centuries one came to mean praising and the other giving orders.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Visitors to the science fair praised the class for its commendible plan to recycle every plastic cup.
a) recycle
b) commendible
c) science
d) plastic
Show answer
b) commendible. This praise word ends in -able, the same ending you see in readable; -ible is wrong here.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Raghav's patience with the new puppy was truly danolbcemme, said his mother.
a) considerable
b) commendable
c) comfortable
d) dependable
Show answer
b) commendable. Comfortable needs an f and an r, dependable a p, and considerable an s and an r; only commendable fits these letters.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word commendable as used in the sentence:
The volunteers did a commendable job of clearing plastic from Juhu beach.
a) admirable
b) poor
c) excellent
d) creditable
Show answer
b) poor. A commendable job earns praise; a poor one earns none.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. persistant 2. commendable 3. diligant 4. tolerence
a) working with steady care and effort
b) willingness to accept views different from your own
c) carrying on firmly in spite of difficulty
d) worthy of being praised
Show answer
d) worthy of being praised. Tolerance ends in -ance, diligent in -ent and persistent in -ent, so commendable is the only correct spelling.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A teacher praises one of these actions as commendable. Which is it?
a) leaving the classroom lights on all night
b) talking loudly during the morning assembly
c) helping a classmate catch up on missed work
d) copying a friend's homework answers
Show answer
c) helping a classmate catch up on missed work
2. The coach said Asha's effort was commendable. How did the coach feel about it?
a) worried about her
b) bored by her
c) pleased with her
d) annoyed with her
Show answer
c) pleased with her
