exalt

[ig-zawlt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exalt ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to raise in rank, honor, power, character, quality, etc.; elevate: He was exalted to the position of president.

to praise; extol: to exalt someone to the skies.

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.

Origin of exalt

1375–1425; late Middle English exalten < Latin exaltāre to lift up, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + alt(us) high + -āre infinitive ending

Related formsex·alt·er, nounself-ex·alt·ing, adjectivesu·per·ex·alt, verb (used with object)un·ex·alt·ing, adjective

Can be confusedexalt exult

Synonym study

1. See elevate.

Synonyms for exalt

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exalt ON THESAURUS.COM

1. promote, dignify, raise, ennoble. 2. glorify.

Antonyms for exalt

1. humble. 2. depreciate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for exalt

glorify, magnify, dignify, laud, extol, revere, bless, acclaim, ennoble, raise, advance, applaud, intensify, eulogize, erect, worship, commend, apotheosize, upgrade, aggrandize

Examples from the Web for exalt

Contemporary Examples of exalt

Washington has a serious tendency to exalt semantics over common sense.
Egypt’s Declaration of Independence: Not So Different From Ours
Christopher Dickey
July 4, 2013
Not exactly the kind of jobs a new president wants to exalt as the solution of the future.
Starting on Day One, New Ad Lists Everything Romney Would Accomplish
Daniel Stone
May 18, 2012

Historical Examples of exalt

Favour for a person will exalt the one, as disfavour will sink the other.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
For how many years has it been my intention to exalt and ennoble you!
Barnaby Rudge
Charles Dickens
I am afraid he had none of the graces that can exalt one of these affairs.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
Some of its votaries, on the other hand, are inclined to exalt it unduly.
Introduction to the Study of History
Charles V. Langlois
Which of these statues is calculated to uplift and to exalt all who come near?
Italy, the Magic Land
Lilian Whiting

British Dictionary definitions for exalt

exalt

verb (tr)

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

Derived Formsexalter, noun

Word Origin for exalt

C15: from Latin exaltāre to raise, from altus high

usage

Exalt is sometimes wrongly used where exult is meant: he was exulting (not exalting) in his win earlier that day

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exalt

late 14c., from Old French exalter (10c.), from Latin exaltare "raise, elevate," from ex- "out, up" (see ex-) + altus "high" (see old). Related: Exalted; exalting.