Laudatives are words or grammatical forms that denote a positive affect

Affect (linguistics)

In linguistics, speaker affect is attitude or emotion that a speaker brings to an utterance. Affects such as sarcasm, contempt, dismissal, distaste, disgust, disbelief, exasperation, boredom, anger, joy, respect or disrespect, sympathy, pity, gratitude, wonder, admiration, humility, and awe are...

. That is, they express praise or approval on the part of the speaker. Laudatory words in English include phrases such as "he's a saint" (for a helpful person), "this is ambrosia" (for a meal); there is also the concept of laudatory intonation, as in "What a house!" said with an air of wonder. ("What a ..." with different intonation can also express contempt.) This word derives from the Latin verb, laudare, meaning "to praise."