as in award
recognition given to someone who has done something extremely well but who has not won the top honor
They didn't win the science fair competition but were pleased to receive an honorable mention.
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Recent Examples of honorable mention
He was named to the Big Ten’s all-freshman team, received all-conference honorable mention and was selected to the NCAA Tournament’s All-South Region team.
—
Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
New Mexico coach Eric Olen dipped into his UCSD connections for transfer guard Hudson Mayes, who was honorable mention all-Big West in his freshman season with the Tritons.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Cuban is the author of the poetry collections 3032 (2018) and All Brown Boys Get Trumpets (2024), which recently received honorable mention for the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Award at the International Latino Book Awards.
—Yesika Salgado, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
An honorable mention goes out to Will’s dog, Betty.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for honorable mention
Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
New Mexico coach Eric Olen dipped into his UCSD connections for transfer guard Hudson Mayes, who was honorable mention all-Big West in his freshman season with the Tritons.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Cuban is the author of the poetry collections 3032 (2018) and All Brown Boys Get Trumpets (2024), which recently received honorable mention for the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Award at the International Latino Book Awards.
—Yesika Salgado, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
An honorable mention goes out to Will’s dog, Betty.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for honorable mention
Recent Examples of Synonyms for honorable mention
Noun
-
The Catholic Charities received $11 million from HHS in fiscal year 2025, according to federal spending data, but the award ended as of March 31.—
Sarah Perkel,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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However, federal law requires that judges review arbitration awards with a high degree of deference and should only vacate them if there’s an extraordinary defect, such as the award was procured by fraud or the arbitrator failed to consider relevant evidence or follow basic legal principles.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Over the years, the museum has received its share of accolades.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Rodriguez had accolades galore in college.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Glaser raved, meaning it as a compliment.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Hawthorne discovered this compliment at a private dinner with Melville at a hotel in Lenox.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Honorable mention.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/honorable%20mention. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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