exaltation

[eg-zawl-tey-shuhn, ek-sawl-]

noun

1. the act of exalting.

2. the state of being exalted.

3. elation of mind or feeling, sometimes abnormal or morbid in character; rapture: euphoric exaltation.

   mystical exaltation;

   euphoric exaltation.

   Synonyms: euphoria, transport, exultation

4. Chiefly British.,  a flight of larks.

5. Astrology.,  the sign of the zodiac in which the most positive influence of a planet is expressed (fall ).

6. Chemistry.,  (formerly) the process of subliming.

exaltation

/ ˌɛɡzɔːlˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of exalting or state of being exalted

2. a feeling of intense well-being or exhilaration; elation; rapture

3. a flock of larks

Other Word Forms

• hyperexaltation noun
• self-exaltation noun
• superexaltation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of exaltation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English exaltacioun, from Latin exaltātiōn- (stem of exaltātiō ). See exalt, -ation

Synonym Study

See ecstasy.

Example Sentences

These dangers are particularly obvious to academics and other intellectual elites: They include fascism, nativism, anti-intellectualism, persecution of unpopular minorities, exaltation of the mediocre, and romantic exaggeration of the wisdom and virtue of the masses.

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“It was a feeling of exaltation. Artistic beauty. It was everything.”

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Yet the collective spirit of the event — an exaltation of the feminine in its many expressions — felt authentic to Uchis’ work as an artist.

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Philosophical concepts used to address these topics have been implicitly determined by the colonizer through the exaltation of certain thinkers and the obscuring of others.

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But Timur’s live performance added another otherworldly level of exaltation for which neither film nor deafening amplification can enhance.

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Related Words

• rapture