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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR exalt

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exalt ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR exalt

1. humble. 2. depreciate.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR exalt ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
He was a prime favourite with Queen Elizabeth, and she knew how to exalt and abase, to create and destroy.
The Birth of the Nation|Mrs. Roger A. Pryor
No generous emotion, no human impulse I had ever experienced, but came with adoration and rich gifts with which to exalt her.
In Accordance with the Evidence|Oliver Onions

I will exalt thee to the throne of the universe, and thou shalt be chief in the chariot of the gospel.
Sermons of Christmas Evans|Joseph Cross
They chose to exalt into the noblest self-sacrifice the act of my leaving M. Selby's house.
The Parisians, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I wished to exalt her to that proud station in the world which Providence had fitted her to fill.
Elson Grammar School Literature, Book Four.|William H. Elson

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

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.