extol

Borrowed from Latin extollō (“elevate, raise high”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈstəʊl/, /ɪkˈstɒl/

  • Audio (Southern England); /ɪkˈstɒl/:

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈstoʊl/
• Rhymes: -əʊl, -ɒl

extol (third-person singular simple present extols, present participle extolling, simple past and past participle extolled)

1. (transitive) To praise; to make high.

   Synonyms: belaud, flatter

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 52:13:

     Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

   • 1814 October, “Proceedings of Irish Roman Catholics”, in William Haweis Cooper, editor, The Protestant Advocate, Irish Missionary Magazine and Christian Watchman, volume III, London: Houlston and Stoneman, […]; Dublin: P. D. Hardy & Sons, pages 1–2:

     It not only congratulates the Pope, but panegyrizes his Holiness, extols the college of cardinals and the bishops of Italy, calls upon the ashes of the martyrs to rejoice, apostrophizes Peter and Paul, and pays many fine compliments to happy Britain, although dissentient from the Romish faith;—it then reverts, in conclusion, to the Pope, and ends with intreating his blessing and assuring him of the prayers of his Irish congratulators.

   • 1887, Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine, Sir Hall Caine, John Parker Anderson, Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, page 136:

     Men like Stuart who had no desire to extol Coleridge's virtues, and other witnesses quite as hostile, to whom a moral dereliction could hardly be a mortal offence, were loud in praise of the purity of his walk in life.

   • a. 1887 (date written), Emily Dickinson, “(please specify the chapter or poem)”, in M[abel] L[oomis] Todd and M[illicent] T[odd] Bingham, editors, Bolts of Melody, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, published 1945, page 173:

     Extol thee—could I—then I will / By saying nothing new, / But just the tritest truth / That thou art heavenly.

   • 2022 January 22, Jonathan Reiner, “If you think that glass of wine is good for you, it’s time to reconsider”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Maimonides, the 12th century scholar, rabbi and physician also extolled the health benefits of wine in moderation.

   • 2022 February 23, Barry Doe, “Liverpool & Manchester Atlas is excellent value”, in RAIL, number 951, page 60:

     In the meantime, I have an opportunity of extolling the virtues of his Liverpool & Manchester Railway Atlas, which appeared last year and has already had its second print-run.

   • 2024 April 17, David Sasaki, “The emotionally immature lives of men and women”, in The Time Capsule‎^[2]:

     Instead, we retreat into our gender-segregated media spaces where the manosphere extols stoicism and the womanosphere celebrates emotional vulnerability.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “extol”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.