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
Synonym Usage
See elevate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has exaltedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have exaltedperfect
-
have been exaltingperfect progressive
-
is exaltingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
exaltingparticiple
-
are exaltingprogressive
-
exaltssingular 3rd person
-
has been exaltingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am exaltingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
-
had exaltedperfect
-
had been exaltingperfect progressive
-
was exaltingprogressive singular
-
exaltedparticiple
-
exaltedsimple
-
were exaltingprogressive plural
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
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Power Prefix: ex-
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A Christmas Carol
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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.
“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
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
But to compare Shree to Western writers is to miss the point of “Tomb of Sand”: to exalt Hindustan beyond the bloodstained legacy of its former colonial powers.
From Washington Post • Feb. 3, 2023
Enshrined, meaning to cherish, revere, exalt, consecrate and sanctify, is a word of dignity and respect now side-by-side with same-sex marriages and families, and interracial families.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2022
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
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.
