Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To praise highly; exalt. synonym: praise.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To raise aloft; set on high; elevate.
  • To speak in laudatory terms of; praise strongly; eulogize: as, to extol the virtues or the exploits of a person.
  • Synonyms Applaud, etc. (see praise, v.); laud, commend, celebrate, glorify, exalt.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To place on high; to lift up; to elevate.
  • transitive verb To elevate by praise; to eulogize; to praise; to magnify

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb to praise; to make high

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb praise, glorify, or honor

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English extollen, from Latin extollere, to lift up, praise : ex-, up from; see ex– + tollere, to lift; see telə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin extollere - "to elevate, raise high"; ultimately based on the P.I.E. root "*tel-", "*tol-" - "to bear, carry".

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Examples

  • The facts I will extol is that global warming is indeed happening and it isn't a friend of the moose.

    Moose Decline Threatens Minnesota Hunt Dave Hurteau 2008

  • He was a strong opponent of the rationalistic tendencies which had infected some dialecticians of his times, and often warned his pupils against such as extol their dialectics above the teachings of the Church and the testimony of the

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913

  • But what Apple also has, which never came up in discussion at the dinner or in any newspaper article that covered it, is its offshore manufacturing relationship with a company in China called Foxconn that makes virtually all of the Apple products which the President and Ms. Jarrett extol as the future of American manufacturing.

    Leo Hindery, Jr.: Obamanomics: Guess Who Came to Dinner; Guess Who Didn't Even Get Asked? Jr. Leo Hindery 2011

  • The liberal "civility" extended to conservatives is baffling considering liberals extol tolerance as one of their virtue!

    Liz Cheney open to running for office 2009

  • Otherwise, Republicans can pontificate, as in the Pledge to America, about how "joblessness is the single most important challenge facing America today" and extol the "pride and dignity that comes with an honest day's work and a steady paycheck."

    Republicans guilty of mass murder on job creation Ruth Marcus 2010

  • In its enthusiasm to extol farm-to-tableism, the series tends to talk down to its audience, as during a rave over Indian produce with names like Cherokee Red: "Before America was colonized, these tribes were using organic methods before organic was even a buzzword."

    Tough Chick, Tender Chickens Nancy deWolf Smith 2011

  • For all of you, whom condemn Obama for this display, but extol Bush as a great President, one fact is all that is needed to burst your bubble: Bush took more vacation time as President than any in history.

    Obama calls Lakers, Penguins coaches 2009

  • Rather than a traditional neoliberal who tries to extol the virtues of trade, he prefers to just ignore its impact entirely.

    Matthew Yglesias » The Case for Ever-Bigger Government 2009

  • Microsoft and Asus have teamed up to present a new advertising smarm-storm intended to extol the virtues of Windows on netbooks – and smear Linux.

    p2pnet World Headlines – June 1, 2009 2009

  • These running gags are pretty funny, but the really standout moments are the longer strips, especially the "What a Witch" strip, in which two witches standing over a cauldron extol the virtues of Kiddee Flakes, which are much more convenient for kidnapped-child-fattening than candy-houses.

    Grimmer Tales: twisted fairy tale comics Boing Boing 2009

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