Compliments are something that is always welcomed. It is nothing more than the fact of highlighting something that characterizes us or defines us but in a positive way, although to better understand what the compliment refers to, we want to explain them with examples and also see if they have any difference with the compliment.
What is a compliment, examples and how it differs from a compliment
According to the Larousse dictionary, a compliment is an “act of congratulating someone on some merit” , of pronouncing ” words of praise or congratulations .” A statement , therefore, quite positive and that highlights the person to whom it is addressed . But for the compliment to be well received, it must still meet other criteria , because the term “compliment” is sometimes based on oppressive behavior , which can intimidate or even scare , even in spite of themselves.
A “sincere, respectful and balanced” compliment
Susan Krauss Whitbourne , emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, wrote an article on different types of compliments , defining what a ” good compliment ” is.
In his article, Krauss describes that a good compliment to be considered as such must be: “sincere, respectful, balanced and that does not provide any obvious advantage for whoever does it.”
But even with all the disinterest and sincerity in the world, the teacher explains that a compliment can sometimes go wrong. For example, when it is mistakenly perceived as sarcastic, when it is repeated and too forced it does not seem sincere, when it denotes certain jealousy in the person who says it, or when it is perceived as a judgment.
Examples of “good compliments”
From what has been said, the compliment received as such and accepted willingly will be the one that positively highlights something of ours.
Some examples can be:
- “I didn’t know you played the piano so well.”
- “I love how your hair is, it’s very shiny.”
- “How do you keep yourself always so happy?”
- «The years do not pass for you. You are just as beautiful (or beautiful) ».
- “You always know how to make me smile with your character.”
- “You are the best friend I could have.”
But of course if we have a good relationship with the person who gives us these compliments, we will perceive them as something good , but what if we do not know that person? Well then it may happen what the aforementioned teacher says in her article, that the compliment becomes something that is received as a sarcasm or a falsehood.
Is the compliment different from the compliment?
We have already seen what a compliment is and how depending on who says it, or who receives it, it can be perceived as something good or the opposite, but it remains to be seen if there is a difference or not between the compliment and the compliment , given which are normally considered synonymous words.
But the truth is that the two are different and we will understand why if we look for the definition of «flattery» in the RAE dictionary in which it says: » Generally exaggerated and interested praise that is done to a person to satisfy their pride or their vanity”.
In other words, a compliment would be a compliment to someone but not in order to highlight something good about that person without more, but with interest and with the desire to extol the pride of the person who receives it.
An example to understand the difference between compliment and compliment could be telling someone how well an item of clothing fits. In this sense, the compliment could be “I like how good that shirt looks on you,” while the compliment would be “Only you can look good that shirt.”
