as in surpassed
to be greater, better, or stronger than
the special effects in this new sci-fi extravaganza excel any that we've seen previously
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Recent Examples of excelled
Sheehan excelled against almost every Texas hitter except Nimmo, who hammered his second pitch 405 feet to dead center for the 15th leadoff homer of the longtime Mets slugger's career.
—
ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
The second section deals with the military and civil servants and the courtiers who excelled by dint of their literary skills or musical genius.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
The Raptors, Barnes especially, have excelled on these types of switches all year.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Too often last year, several Jets players missed tackles in the open field, an area in which Styles excelled at with the Buckeyes.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026
Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from dermatologists.
—Sarah Felbin, Allure, 30 Mar. 2026
Inside that costume was Piper Randolph, a first-team All-American junior fencer who excelled in the Pan-American Cadet Championships.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
Johnson has excelled for her hometown program scoring 28 points in back-to-back wins over Georgia and Iowa.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2026
Eventually, we were brought into the soundstage where a hype man impressively excelled in the thankless task of keeping the energy high.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
The second section deals with the military and civil servants and the courtiers who excelled by dint of their literary skills or musical genius.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
The Raptors, Barnes especially, have excelled on these types of switches all year.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Too often last year, several Jets players missed tackles in the open field, an area in which Styles excelled at with the Buckeyes.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026
Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from dermatologists.
—Sarah Felbin, Allure, 30 Mar. 2026
Inside that costume was Piper Randolph, a first-team All-American junior fencer who excelled in the Pan-American Cadet Championships.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
Johnson has excelled for her hometown program scoring 28 points in back-to-back wins over Georgia and Iowa.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2026
Eventually, we were brought into the soundstage where a hype man impressively excelled in the thankless task of keeping the energy high.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excelled
Verb
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Previously, agents and teams haggled over contracts that surpassed what top veteran players earned.—
Kurt Badenhausen,
Sportico.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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Last year was the first time her income surpassed her husband's salary, Feret told USA TODAY.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Johnson and Mazzulla both led teams that widely exceeded most preseason expectations.—
Tim Reynolds,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
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The ordeal began with a miscalculation in northern Chile, just south of Calama, where energy demands quickly exceeded expectations.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Saturday’s season high eclipsed them all.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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Away from the Atlantic seaboard, Cincinnati was only eclipsed by New Orleans, another busy trading hub connected by the nation’s riverboats.—
Alexander Coolidge,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Of course, they're still topped with that decadent with cream cheese frosting.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
21 Apr. 2026
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The company’s insurer, UnitedHealthcare, and Optum both topped analysts’ sales estimates for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excelled. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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