extol
Americanverb (used with object)
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extols,
present (3rd person singular)
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extolled,
past participle, past
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extolling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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extollernoun
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extollmentnoun
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extolmentnoun
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superextolverb (used with object)
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superextollverb (used with object)
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extollinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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extolsimple
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extolssimple
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have extolledperfect
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has extolledperfect
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am extollingprogressive
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are extollingprogressive
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is extollingprogressive
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have been extollingperfect progressive
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has been extollingperfect progressive
Past
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extolledsimple
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had extolledperfect
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was extollingprogressive
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were extollingprogressive
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had been extollingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of extol
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English extollen, from Latin extollere “to lift up, raise,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + tollere “to lift, raise up”
Explanation
If you have a crush on a guy who likes your best friend, it can be very depressing to listen to him extol your friend's virtues, while you just nod and smile. If you extol something, you praise it very highly. The Bible says: "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven..." Nebuchadnezzar II was king of the second Babylonian Empire, the one who sent the Jews into exile. In some translations of the Bible, the word honor is replaced with glorify. Praise, extol, honor, glorify all mean about the same. The use of multiple synonymous words in a given sentence is a frequent motif in the Bible.
Vocabulary lists containing extol
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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:
Also, I am afraid your columns do not sufficiently extol the value of work, which Voltaire rightly claimed protects us from the evils of boredom, vice, and poverty.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
So what is the name of this dish to which I so lavishly extol this multitude of virtues?
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
In a statement Monday, Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, the company behind the London festival, said Ye isn’t being given “a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
That’s because after DJ Khaled and Kenan Thompson extol the virtues of this miracle drug, a voiceover recounts a litany of potential side effects—vomiting, diarrhea, kidney problems, things of that nature.
From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2026
It is, in any case, another reason to extol, not begrudge, the fundamental innovativeness of the Ptolemaic state.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
The memorial also extols the soldiers killed in the conflict—a move analysts say is aimed at buttressing popular support for the deployment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Barrett extols a judge’s obligation to “resolve disputes according to the ground rules that the people have prescribed,” but that responsibility is meaningless in the absence of reliable evidence.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025
The first Swedish-language entry since 2012, the song extols the practice's stress-busting virtues.
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
There’s comfort in reminding ourselves of the sweet, friendly, palatable values that the good bear extols, and there has never been a better time to do that than today.
From Salon ● Jan. 20, 2025
He reassures Pa and Ma about Vincent, and he extols their virtues to Vincent.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Mr. Ballard, a longtime journalist for Sports Illustrated, dives into the history and finds figures, such as Euripides and Benjamin Franklin, who extolled its health benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I have extolled the virtues of both of these lessons in my columns over the years.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
Singling out their work ethic, Mantello extolled the way Lane and Metcalf can be relied on to hit the ground running.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
In that same evening address, President Trump extolled the US's oil producing capabilities.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
They saw the Pullman Company’s “Ideal of Industry” exhibit, with its detailed model of Pullman’s company town, which the company extolled as a workers’ paradise.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
I had spent the past couple of weeks corresponding with Raw Farm founder Mark McAfee, who’d filled my inbox with messages and PowerPoints extolling the virtues of his most important, and controversial, product:
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
The president is extolling the virtues of the East Wing ballroom.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
The justice . . . responded by extolling the importance of an “independent judiciary.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Saylor has been anxious to promote the preferred stock, extolling its high-yield/ low volatility returns.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
He sent a flurry of wires to Howard, extolling the superb racing strip, mild fall weather, and general beauty of New York.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
