recommendation

recommendation — noun

1. an opinion that someone or something is worth choosing or using — for instance,

1.nounB1
Definition

an opinion that someone or something is worth choosing or using — for instance, telling a friend that a certain restaurant serves great food, or a teacher writing that a student would make an excellent worker at another company.

Example

The hotel was an excellent recommendation from our travel agent in Tokyo.

excellent recommendation

Chidi's recommendation letter helped him get the teaching position in Taipei.

Common collocations
  • letter of recommendation
  • personal recommendation
  • on someone's recommendation
  • glowing recommendation
Synonyms
  • endorsement

    more formal, used for public or official approval

  • referral

    focuses on directing someone to a particular person or service

  • testimonial

    a written or spoken statement praising someone's character or work

Antonyms
  • criticism

    an expression of disapproval based on perceived faults

Grammar Patterns

letter of recommendation

on someone's recommendation

recommendation for [person/thing]

recommendation of [person/thing]

Usage Note

Often used with descriptive adjectives such as strong, glowing, personal, or excellent. Can refer either to a formal letter of recommendation or to a verbal endorsement of a product or service.

Common Mistakes

I wrote a suggestion letter for my student.
I wrote a recommendation letter for my student.
A recommendation letter endorses someone's suitability; a suggestion letter simply offers an idea without endorsement.

2. a formal or professional opinion that tells a person how they should act in a gi

2.nounB2
Definition

a formal or professional opinion that tells a person how they should act in a given situation — for instance, a doctor instructing a patient to rest after an operation, or a committee deciding that a new policy ought to be put in place.

Example

The doctor's recommendation was to rest for at least three days after the surgery.

recommendation + was to + infinitive

Based on the lawyer's recommendation, the family decided not to sign the contract.

Common collocations
  • make a recommendation
  • follow a recommendation
  • accept a recommendation
  • final recommendation
Synonyms
  • advice

    broader and more general; can be given by anyone, not necessarily an expert

  • counsel

    more formal and often legal or therapeutic in nature

  • guidance

    emphasises ongoing support and direction over a single suggested action

  • proposal

    a formal plan put forward for discussion, less authoritative than a recommendation

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

make a recommendation

recommendation + to-infinitive

recommendation that + clause (subjunctive)

follow/accept a recommendation

Usage Note

Commonly followed by a that-clause (using the subjunctive verb form in formal English) or a to-infinitive. Stronger and more authoritative than suggestion, and typically used in professional, medical, or official contexts.

Common Mistakes

My doctor's suggestion was to drink more water.
My doctor's recommendation was to drink more water.
In medical and professional contexts, recommendation carries stronger authority and is the preferred term for prescribed actions.

Word family

  • recommend
    verbB1
  • recommended
    adjectiveB1
  • recommending
    verbB2
  • recommendable
    adjectiveC1
  • recommender
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Advice is the broadest of these terms and can be given by anyone in any context — a friend, a parent, a colleague. A suggestion is a more tentative idea put forward for the other person to consider or reject; it carries no particular authority. A recommendation is stronger and more formal: it implies that the speaker has evaluated the options and endorses one as the best course. A proposal is a formal plan or scheme offered for discussion and approval, often used in business or political settings. For example, a friend might suggest trying a new café (casual idea), a doctor recommends a specific treatment (professional endorsement), and a committee proposes a new policy (formal plan for approval).

recommendation ↗advice ↗suggestion ↗proposal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • on the recommendation of
  • based on a recommendation
  • by recommendation of

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Recommendation comes from Latin recommendare, formed from re- (meaning again or back) and commendare (to entrust to someone's care). Commendare itself comes from com- (together) and mandare (to put into someone's hands, to entrust). The word originally carried the sense of entrusting someone or something to another person's care. Over time, the meaning shifted to praising or endorsing someone as worthy of trust — essentially saying 'I entrust this person to you because they are good.'