exalt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
Related Words
See elevate.
Other Word Forms
- exalter noun
- self-exalting adjective
- superexalt verb (used with object)
- unexalting adjective
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
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.
His second title takes him a step closer to promotion to the exalted highest rank of yokozuna, a feat no European-born wrestler has ever achieved.
From Barron's
The former slave girl became a noblewoman in New Spain, but she didn’t have much time to enjoy her exalted status.
From Los Angeles Times
Mr. Stephens comments in a way that exalts the passage’s author: “Given this statement, it seems implausible that . . . Marcus bowed to trumpery.”
“I can’t describe how beautiful, calm, sacred, exciting, and exalting it was. It was just a dream,” she told the outlet.
From MarketWatch
She was an artful, innovative interpreter of other people’s songs, in the vein of Frank Sinatra, in an era when audiences—and especially critics—were exalting the singer-songwriter model instead.
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.
