The best replacement for praise is encouragement.

The best alternatives to praise are rated as following:
★★★★★  encouragement
★★★★★  worship
★★★  criticism
★  admiration
★  compliment
★  triumph
★  hymns
★  prayer
  flattery
  acknowledgement
  thanksgiving
  extol
  reward
  not to praise
  encourage
  recognition
  feedback
  words of encouragement
  positive reinforcement
  person praise
  blame

Your alternative for praise is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about praise, one probably shouldn't forget about raise.

Other search terms related to praise and their ratings are:
★★★★★ raise
★ reward
You have in mind a companion for praise and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of praise in all years. Click on graph for more.
praise
encouragement
worship