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exalt

[ig-zawlt]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to raise in rank, honor, power, character, quality, etc.; elevate: He was exalted to the position of president.
  2. to praise; extol: to exalt someone to the skies.
  3. to stimulate, as the imagination: The lyrics of Shakespeare exalted the audience.
  4. to intensify, as a color: complementary colors exalt each other.
  5. Obsolete. to elate, as with pride or joy.
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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

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

Antonyms

1. humble. 2. depreciate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

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

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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)
  1. to raise or elevate in rank, position, dignity, etc
  2. to praise highly; glorify; extol
  3. to stimulate the mind or imagination of; excite
  4. to increase the intensity of (a colour, etc)
  5. to fill with joy or delight; elate
  6. obsolete to lift up physically
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Derived Formsexalter, noun

Word Origin

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

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper