Meaning & use
extolling
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“extolling” is a form of “extol”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive
Praising someone or something very highly and with enthusiasm, especially in public (the -ing form of extol).
Grammar: Takes an object: extolling the benefits of exercise.
Patterns
- extolling the virtues of something
- extolling someone as something
The brochure was full of paragraphs extolling the beauty of the coast.
She spent the whole dinner extolling the virtues of her new phone.
Reviewers wrote glowing articles extolling the director's skill.
Word forms
| base form | extol |
|---|---|
| third person singular | extols |
| past tense | extolled |
| past participle | extolled |
Common combinations
- extolling the virtues of
- He kept extolling the virtues of a good night's sleep.
- extolling the benefits of
- The speaker was extolling the benefits of walking to work.
- extolling someone's talents
- Teachers were extolling the child's talents in music.
- extolling the merits of
- The manual is busy extolling the merits of the new design.
- a letter extolling
- She received a letter extolling her courage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- praising
- Praising is the plain everyday word, while extolling suggests warmer, longer and more elevated praise.
- lauding
- Lauding is similar in formality but is more often used for public honor such as awards.
- glorifying
- Glorifying can imply exaggeration or making something seem greater than it is, which extolling does not necessarily do.
- singing the praises of
- Singing the praises of is an informal, idiomatic way of saying the same thing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: extolling or extort? extolling or extolled?
extolling vs extort
Extort means to obtain money or something else by force or threats, and it has nothing to do with praise.
extolling vs extolled
Extolled is the past tense and past participle, spelled with a double l, so write 'she extolled' but 'she extols'.
Practice
The mayor gave a speech ___ the courage of the rescue workers.
Choose one answer.
Extolling means praising warmly. Extorting means forcing money out of someone, which sounds similar but does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “extolling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.