pat on the back

tap lightly on the back in an indication of praise; praise for a job well-done

Physical intimacy is informal proximity and/or touching. It can be enjoyed by itself and/or be an expression of feelings (such as close friendship, love, and/or sexual attraction) which people have for one another. Examples of physical intimacy include being inside someone's personal space, holding hands, hugging, kissing, caressing, and sexual activity.
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praise He gave me a pat on the back after I finished the project.

Synonyms and related words:
abet, aid and abet, ask for, assurance, assure, bear up, best wishes, bless, blessing, bolster, brace up, buck up, cheer, comfort, compliment, condole with, congratulate, congratulation, console, countenance, ease, embolden, emboldening, encourage, encouragement, feed, felicitate, felicitation, foster, give a bouquet, give comfort, give encouragement, good wishes, gratulate, gratulation, hand it to, hearten, heartening, inspiration, inspire, inspirit, inspiriting, inspiritment, invite, keep in countenance, nerve, nourish, nurture, pay a compliment, put at ease, reassurance, reassure, rejoice with, relieve, set at ease, solace, support, sympathize with