panegyric

noun

pan·​e·​gy·​ric ˌpa-nə-ˈjir-ik  -ˈjī-rik 

: a eulogistic oration or writing

composed a panegyric about Tchaikovsky for the concert program

also : formal or elaborate praise

panegyrical

ˌpa-nə-ˈjir-i-kəl 

-ˈjī-ri-

adjective

panegyrically

ˌpa-nə-ˈjir-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈjī-ri-

adverb

Did you know?

On certain fixed dates throughout the year, the ancient Greeks would come together for religious meetings. Such gatherings could range from hometown affairs to great national assemblies, but large or small, the meeting was called a panēgyris. That name comes from pan, meaning "all," and agyris, meaning "assembly." At those assemblies, speakers provided the main entertainment, and they delivered glowing orations extolling the praises of present civic leaders and reliving the past glories of Greek cities. To the Greeks, those laudatory speeches were panēgyrikos, which means "of or for a panēgyris." Latin speakers ultimately transformed panēgyrikos into the noun panegyricus, and English speakers adapted that Latin term to form panegyric.

Synonyms

• accolade
• citation
• commendation
• dithyramb
• encomium
• eulogium
• eulogy
• homage
• hymn
• paean
• salutation
• tribute

Choose the Right Synonym for panegyric

encomium, eulogy, panegyric, tribute, citation mean a formal expression of praise.

encomium implies enthusiasm and warmth in praising a person or a thing.

received encomiums from literary critics

eulogy applies to a prepared speech or writing extolling the virtues and services of a person.

delivered the eulogy at the funeral service

panegyric suggests an elaborate often poetic compliment.

her lyrical memoir was a panegyric to her mentor

tribute implies deeply felt praise conveyed either through words or through a significant act.

the concert was a musical tribute to the early jazz masters

citation applies to the formal praise of a person offered in a military dispatch or in awarding an honorary degree.

earned a citation for bravery

Examples of panegyric in a Sentence

wrote a panegyric on the centennial of the Nobel laureate's birth

Recent Examples on the Web

Buckley’s magazine, National Review, the flagship of the movement, published regular panegyrics to anti-communist generalissimos, heaping adoration on the likes of the Dominican Republic’s Rafael Trujillo, Portugal’s Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, and Spain’s Francisco Franco. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024

For example, Kenneth Khachigian, chief speechwriter for former President Ronald Reagan, wrote a panegyric about her for The Wall Street Journal, which went so far as to compare her to the Gipper. —Robert Robb, CNN, 31 Oct. 2022

At Night Market, a young Filipina chef named Strawberry conjured a mouthwatering panegyric to Middle East cuisine. —Christopher P. Baker, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2022

Leave it to Grant Park Music Festival artistic director Carlos Kalmar to make sense of a head-scratcher of a season closer: A sprawling, somewhat obscure military panegyric by Handel. —Hannah Edgar, chicagotribune.com, 21 Aug. 2021

Yet, once the protagonist Vellitt Boe leaves her capricious, cruel fantasy realm behind, there follows a panegyric to this world. —Siddhartha Deb, The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2021

As this panegyric suggests, Charles’s political career in the United States was dead on arrival. —David Klion, The New Republic, 24 Sep. 2019

And all of the above is unbeknownst to Grace, who, in her speech at the wedding feast, delivers a panegyric to her parents for their total fabulosity, and whose life is about to be upended. —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2019

Schlesinger’s liberal panegyrics can still be read with pleasure, even if one winces at his reluctance to abide any serious criticism of his idols. —Michael Kazin, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Latin panegyricus, from Greek panēgyrikos, from panēgyrikos of or for a festival assembly, from panēgyris festival assembly, from pan- + agyris assembly; akin to Greek ageirein to gather

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

panegyric

noun

pan·​e·​gy·​ric ˌpan-ə-ˈjir-ik  -ˈjī-rik 

: formal or elaborate praise