Basic Details
Word: Exaltation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A feeling of great happiness and pride; also the act of praising someone highly or raising them to a higher rank.
Synonyms: joy, elation, delight
Antonyms: misery, humiliation, gloom
Sounds like: exultation (great joy at a success, from the verb exult)
How to Spell Exaltation
Syllables: ex - al - ta - tion
Tricky part: Exalt is spelt with an a after the x, and exaltation keeps that a. Many students add an h, as in exhale, and write exhaltation.
Watch out for: exhaltation, exaltaition, exaltasion
Memory tip: Exalt holds alt, as in altitude: to exalt someone is to lift them high. Then add ation and change nothing: exalt + ation.
Usage Examples
Example 1: A cry of exaltation went up from the crowd when India won the final.
Example 2: The poem is an exaltation of the beauty of the Himalayas.
Example 3: In her exaltation at topping the district, Priya hugged every one of her teachers.
Fun Fact
A group of larks is sometimes called an exaltation of larks, one of many old names for groups of birds, along with a parliament of owls.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ation to form a new word. Choose it:
ation
a) resist
b) attempt
c) exalt
d) defend
Show answer
c) exalt. Exalt joins ation with no change; attempt, resist and defend form their nouns in other ways, such as resistance and defence.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. exaltation 2. exagerration 3. hesitasion 4. pronounciation
a) the way a word is spoken
b) a feeling of great joy and pride
c) making something seem bigger than it really is
d) a pause because you feel unsure
Show answer
b) a feeling of great joy and pride. Exaltation is spelt correctly; exaggeration has two g's and one r, hesitation ends in tion, and pronunciation has no o after the first n.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Grandmother's face shone with exhaltation when the priest read out the names of the students who had passed with distinction from her old village school.
a) priest
b) exhaltation
c) village
d) distinction
Show answer
b) exhaltation. There is no h in exalt; that h belongs to exhale and exhaust.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Exaltation is easily confused with exultation. Exultation comes from which verb?
a) expel
b) exile
c) exalt
d) exult
Show answer
d) exult
2. To exalt a hero is to ____.
a) copy the hero
b) laugh at the hero
c) praise the hero highly
d) ignore the hero
Show answer
c) praise the hero highly
