exalt

verb

ex·​alt ig-ˈzȯlt 

exalted; exalting; exalts

transitive verb

1

: to raise in rank, power, or character

2

: to elevate by praise or in estimation : glorify

3

obsolete : elate

4

: to raise high : elevate

5

: to enhance the activity of : intensify

rousing and exalting the imagination

—George Eliot

intransitive verb

: to induce exaltation

exalter noun

Synonyms

• aggrandize
• canonize
• deify
• dignify
• elevate
• ennoble
• enshrine
• ensky
• enthrone
• glorify
• magnify

Examples of exalt in a Sentence

His behavior has exalted the power and prestige of his office.

The essay exalts the simple beauty of the country.

We exalt thee, O Lord.

He shamelessly exalts his own role in the peace process.

Recent Examples on the Web

With black fingernails and facial scruff in his debut years, Demna was seen as a ringleader for all things underground and alternative, exalting the grittier elements of Paris in his collections, along with jolts of S&M and punk, seen in kinky face hoods and spiky sunglasses. —Miles Socha, WWD, 13 Mar. 2025

So, here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people. —Lydia Price, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025

Airman Bushnell has triumphed over the primitive and exalted the moral potential within the human soul. —Kary Love, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

Venus is said to exalt in Pisces, per traditional astrology. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin exaltare, from ex- + altus high — more at old

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for exalt

• asphalt
• assault
• basalt
• cobalt
• default
• gestalt
• alt
• fault
• gault
• halt
• malt
• sault

Kids Definition

exalt

verb

ex·​alt ig-ˈzȯlt 

1

: to raise in rank, power, or character

2

: to praise highly : glorify

exalter noun

Medical Definition

exalt

transitive verb

ex·​alt ig-ˈzȯlt 

: to cause (virulence) to increase

virulence exalted by addition of mucin to a bacterial culture

also : to increase the virulence of

exalt a virus by repeated rapid passage through susceptible hosts