Meaning & use
elevate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To lift something or someone to a higher physical position.
Grammar: Takes an object: elevate your leg.
Patterns
- elevate something above something
The nurse told him to elevate his injured foot.
Hydraulic jacks elevate the platform to the ceiling.
The road was elevated above the flood line.
verbtransitivefigurative
To raise the quality, level or importance of something.
Grammar: Takes an object and often a to phrase: elevate the discussion to a new level.
Patterns
- elevate something to something
- elevate someone to something
Good lighting can elevate a simple room.
The chef elevated an ordinary soup with fresh herbs.
The scandal elevated the issue to national attention.
verbtransitiveformal
To promote someone to a higher rank or position.
Grammar: Usually passive or followed by to: elevated to the board.
Patterns
- elevate someone to something
She was elevated to the rank of director.
The monk was elevated to bishop in 1920.
He was elevated to the House of Lords.
Word forms
| third person singular | elevates |
|---|---|
| past tense | elevated |
| past participle | elevated |
| -ing form | elevating |
Common combinations
- elevate your mood
- A short walk can elevate your mood.
- elevate to the status of
- The film was elevated to the status of a classic.
- elevated level
- Doctors found an elevated level of sugar in his blood.
- elevate the debate
- The speaker tried to elevate the debate beyond insults.
- elevate your game
- The coach asked the players to elevate their game.
Synonyms and how they differ
- raise
- Raise is the everyday word and works for almost anything going up, while elevate sounds more formal or figurative.
- lift
- Lift stresses physically picking something up and is more casual than elevate.
- promote
- Promote is the standard word for moving someone up in rank, while elevate adds a sense of honor.
- improve
- Improve just means to make better, whereas elevate suggests raising to a noticeably higher standard.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: elevate or alleviate? elevate or elevator?
elevate vs alleviate
Alleviate means to make pain or a problem less severe; it does not mean to raise.
elevate vs elevator
Elevator is the American word for a lift; the verb elevate does not mean riding in one.
Practice
The teacher's thoughtful comments helped ____ the class discussion beyond simple opinions.
Choose one answer.
Elevate means to raise the level of something. Alleviate sounds similar but means to ease a difficulty, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “elevate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.