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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

Examples from the Web for exalting

Historical Examples

  • I should rejoice to see her passing through a discipline so chastening and exalting.

    Ernest Linwood

    Caroline Lee Hentz

  • “And then, the filthy, toping rioters—” she continued, exalting her voice.

  • Two things I can't bear—your lowering yourself like this, and your exalting me.

    A Pessimist

    Robert Timsol

  • But the brilliancy is here not only penetrating, but also exalting.

    The Sense of Beauty

    George Santayana

  • Beethoven insists on exalting you, but Wagner lets you revel and feel naughty.

    The Folly Of Eustace

    Robert S. Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for exalting

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 exalting

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