applaud vs recommend

applaud

verb
  • To praise, or express approval for something or someone. 

  • To express approval (of something) by clapping the hands. 

recommend

verb
  • To bestow commendation on; to represent favourably; to suggest, endorse or encourage as an appropriate choice. 

  • To make acceptable; to attract favor to. 

  • To advise, propose, counsel favorably 

How often have the words applaud and recommend occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )