exalt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
exalts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
exalted,
past participle, past
-
exalting
present participle
-
to raise in rank, honor, power, character, quality, etc.; elevate.
He was exalted to the position of president.
- Antonyms:
- humble
-
to praise; extol.
to exalt someone to the skies.
- Synonyms:
- glorify
- Antonyms:
- depreciate
-
to stimulate, as the imagination.
The lyrics of Shakespeare exalted the audience.
-
to intensify, as a color.
complementary colors exalt each other.
-
Obsolete. to elate, as with pride or joy.
verb
-
to raise or elevate in rank, position, dignity, etc
-
to praise highly; glorify; extol
-
to stimulate the mind or imagination of; excite
-
to increase the intensity of (a colour, etc)
-
to fill with joy or delight; elate
-
obsolete to lift up physically
Usage
Exalt is sometimes wrongly used where exult is meant: he was exulting (not exalting ) in his win earlier that day
Synonym Usage
See elevate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
exaltsimple
-
exaltssimple
-
have exaltedperfect
-
has exaltedperfect
-
am exaltingprogressive
-
are exaltingprogressive
-
is exaltingprogressive
-
have been exaltingperfect progressive
-
has been exaltingperfect progressive
Past
-
exaltedsimple
-
had exaltedperfect
-
was exaltingprogressive
-
were exaltingprogressive
-
had been exaltingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exalt
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English exalten, from Latin exaltāre “to lift up,” from ex- ex- 1 + alt(us) “high” + -āre, infinitive verb ending
Explanation
You might like your manager, but if you exalt her, it means you really put her on a pedestal and treat her like royalty. To exalt is to hold or raise someone up to a high position or status. It doesn't have to mean literally putting that person into a high position, but instead treating them almost like nobility. Overly doting parents exalt their infant to the point where they praise him every time he wets his diaper and call the neighbors over every time he coos.
Vocabulary lists containing exalt
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Power Prefix: ex-
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A Christmas Carol
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“God gave me a mother who worked her entire life for me,” said Hernández, who eased on his elastic goofball schtick to exalt immigrant mothers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Perhaps if we exalt good lighting for watching media in our homes, word will get back to Hollywood.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
“Anzac Day has never asked us to exalt in the glories of war. Anzac Day asks us to stand against the erosion of time and to hold on to their names,” Albanese added.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
Francis “certainly didn’t want to exalt imperialistic logic or government personalities, who were cited to indicate certain historic periods of reference,” Bruni said in a statement.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
In “Like This,” from the Glass/Wilson virtual reality “Monsters of Grace” originally created in 1998 at UCLA, the 12th century whirling dervish Turkish poet Rumi exalts the wonder of dying of love.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
Mr. Maher complains about this, saying that while the Constitution gives primacy of power to Congress, in its current form the State of the Union exalts the president while diminishing the legislative branch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
Southern Company exalts Plant Vogtle as a key clean energy asset.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
But that's the kind of thing that our culture exalts these days.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2023
Let it suffice here to remark that those virtues which he the most earnestly commends and the most highly exalts in his writings, he the most constantly exercised in his own person.
From A Mediaeval Mystic A Short Account of the Life and Writings of Blessed John Ruysbroeck, Canon Regular of Groenendael A.D. 1293-1381 by Scully, Vincent
“As long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors,” he reflected, “the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characters.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
In that, he is in exalted company - Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher are the others.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
I guess what I’m getting at is: It didn’t feel exalted, but I felt purpose and that it was OK to have some responsibility — like a pastor with a congregation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
His novel “Caleb Williams” introduces an embattled young hero, born poor and largely self-educated, who perceives justice in exalted terms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
He secretly hoped that it would start raining heavily, then the rest of the army would recognize his exalted position when they were outside getting soaked, while he was snug and dry inside the tent.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
His “more real” is frustrating, pleasurable, terrifying, exalting, and as familiar as our own peculiar families.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
“I can’t describe how beautiful, calm, sacred, exciting, and exalting it was. It was just a dream,” she told the outlet.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
TV viewers can watch the massive Globo network’s seven-year campaign exalting the sector.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
Instead of exalting form over substance, courts should recognize the humanism of legal dilemmas and focus on it.
From Salon ● Feb. 16, 2024
The music stopped and the guests gathered in the main hall where a small, innocent priest, adorned with the vestments of high mass, read the complicated sermon he had written exalting confused and impracticable virtues.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
