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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Power Prefix: ex-
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
A Christmas Carol
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
In a curious way, many people simultaneously exalt and dismiss mathematicians and scientists as impractical whizzes.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
He echoes throughout her work, in her sense of ecstasy, in how she exalts the world around her, down to the humble leaf of grass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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
According to Keel, this was long explained as a psychological response to bodily changes in the face of a society that exalts thinness above all.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 26, 2022
How it exalts the spirit to think that it is, and that it is conscious of the immense world and of itself!
From Titan: A Romance Vol. II (of 2) by Jean Paul
Before Nazi Germany revoked her civic belonging, universities offered Arendt a more exalted citizenship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
In that, he is in exalted company - Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher are the others.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
Scotland are there and they have a chance to do what none of their exalted predecessors have done.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
Bagharzadeh was the wife of Ali Khamenei but despite her husband's exalted position a figure of the lowest of profiles in Iran.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
“Oh, come let us adore Him, Oh, come let us adore Him”: a cathedral choir, an exalted music that moved Perry to tears—which refused to stop, even after the music did.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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
At the same time, they're exalting a completely fictitious and unrealistic fantasy of a "golden age."
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2025
At Ecomoda, a Colombian fashion company that prided itself on exalting beauty and style, this lowly secretary was an odd duck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
