as in exceeding
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 excelling
And the other two, righties Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat, are now excelling at Triple-A just as the roster is about to expand.
—
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Horton has impressed throughout training camp, excelling in many of the same ways as Young with speed, ball skills and explosiveness in and out of breaks.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Zimbabwe, who are not in the nine-team World Test Championship, will play 11 Tests in total this year - the equal most alongside Australia - to underline their determination of playing Test cricket and ultimately excelling in it.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
At the time, Barnett was a rising star in the speakers’ circuit because of her son Jacob, a physics wiz with autism who made headlines for excelling at school when experts doubted his abilities.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
After excelling in all-Black educational environments, including as an undergraduate at Howard University, Milton Rooks became one of a very small number of Black students to enroll at the Golden Gate University School of Law in the early 1960s.
—Justin Driver, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2025
Yet no biological barriers have been found that prevent women from excelling in space missions, which underscores the importance of equal opportunities.
—Maria Bolevich, Interesting Engineering, 14 Mar. 2025
This reality of corporate life creates both allies and critics simply through the normal course of excelling at your job.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Those franchises, regardless of market size, should not be punished for excelling at scouting and development.
—Jason Lloyd, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Horton has impressed throughout training camp, excelling in many of the same ways as Young with speed, ball skills and explosiveness in and out of breaks.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Zimbabwe, who are not in the nine-team World Test Championship, will play 11 Tests in total this year - the equal most alongside Australia - to underline their determination of playing Test cricket and ultimately excelling in it.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
At the time, Barnett was a rising star in the speakers’ circuit because of her son Jacob, a physics wiz with autism who made headlines for excelling at school when experts doubted his abilities.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
After excelling in all-Black educational environments, including as an undergraduate at Howard University, Milton Rooks became one of a very small number of Black students to enroll at the Golden Gate University School of Law in the early 1960s.
—Justin Driver, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2025
Yet no biological barriers have been found that prevent women from excelling in space missions, which underscores the importance of equal opportunities.
—Maria Bolevich, Interesting Engineering, 14 Mar. 2025
This reality of corporate life creates both allies and critics simply through the normal course of excelling at your job.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Those franchises, regardless of market size, should not be punished for excelling at scouting and development.
—Jason Lloyd, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excelling
Verb
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With a range exceeding 250 kilometers (155 miles), the HQ-9C is the backbone of China’s strategic air defense.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
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The costs of certifying a building as exceeding legal requirements for energy efficiency, for example, are seen as high points not excesses because efficiencies serve another agenda.—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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World leaders and scientists hoped to avoid surpassing this threshold under the Paris Agreement.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile both warring parties have been accused of mass human rights abuses, with the death toll of the conflict likely surpassing 400,000.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After all, Forbes reported that Swift’s Eras tour became the highest-grossing music tour of all time, eclipsing $2 billion in ticket revenues.—
Nathan Goldman,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Immigration has now become the dominant political issue in Britain, eclipsing concerns over a faltering economy, as the country faces a record number of asylum claims and arrivals by migrants in small boats across the Channel, including more than 28,000 this year.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Such heavy use exposes teens to a cascade of risks, with mental health impacts topping the list.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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New data has revealed the world's top dog-loving 35 countries based on the number of canines owned per capita, with Lithuania shockingly topping the list.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excelling. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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