elevate

[v. el-uh-veyt; adj. el-uh-veyt, -vit] /v. ˈɛl əˌveɪt; adj. ˈɛl əˌveɪt, -vɪt/
verb (used with object), elevated, elevating.
1.
to move or raise to a higher place or position; lift up.
2.
to raise to a higher state, rank, or office; exalt; promote:
to elevate an archbishop to cardinal.
3.
to raise to a higher intellectual or spiritual level:
Good poetry may elevate the mind.
4.
to raise the spirits; put in high spirits.
5.
to raise (the voice) in pitch or volume.
adjective
6.
Archaic. raised; elevated.
Origin
1490-1500; < Latin ēlevātus lightened, lifted up (past participle of ēlevāre), equivalent to ē- e-1 + lev- light + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
nonelevating, adjective
reelevate, verb (used with object), reelevated, reelevating.
Synonyms
1. lift, hoist. 2. advance, upgrade, dignify.
Synonym Study
2. Elevate, enhance, exalt, heighten mean to raise or make higher in some respect. To elevate is to raise something up to a higher level, position, or state: to elevate the living standards of a group. To enhance is to add to the attractions or desirability of something: Landscaping enhances the beauty of the grounds. To exalt is to raise very high in rank, character, estimation, mood, etc.: A king is exalted above his subjects. To heighten is to increase the strength or intensity: to heighten one's powers of concentration.
Examples from the web for elevate
  • Some use it because by diminishing others they elevate their own sense of self worth.
  • Rejoice in others' good work and let that elevate you.
  • Thanks for trying to inform and elevate the publics awareness.
  • May elevate levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate to boost memory.
  • She loved her kind, and she lived to elevate and make them happy.
  • Every ten years or so, a new dominant platform emerges to elevate computing to another level.
  • When you elevate the highway, you depress the neighborhood.
  • Among those chemicals are catecholamines, hormones normally found in the bloodstream that can elevate heart and blood pressure.
  • If the series offers an object lesson in how to elevate the tone of public discourse, all the better, its creators say.
  • He needs to resist the temptation to elevate some of his dodgier friends to high judicial posts.
British Dictionary definitions for elevate

elevate

/ˈɛlɪˌveɪt/
verb (transitive)
1.
to move to a higher place
2.
to raise in rank or status; promote
3.
to put in a cheerful mood; elate
4.
to put on a higher cultural plane; uplift: to elevate the tone of a conversation
5.
to raise the axis of a gun
6.
to raise the intensity or pitch of (the voice)
7.
(RC Church) to lift up (the Host) at Mass for adoration
Derived Forms
elevatory, adjective
Word Origin
C15: from Latin ēlevāre from levāre to raise, from levis (adj) light
Word Origin and History for elevate
v.

late 15c., from Latin elevatus, past participle of elevare "lift up, raise," figuratively, "to lighten, alleviate," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + levare "lighten, raise," from levis "light" in weight (see lever). Related: Elevated; elevating.

Slang definitions & phrases for elevate

elevate

verb

To rob: go out and ''elevate'' a bank

[1920s+; probably a play on heist]