as in surpasses
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 excels
For her, the color that excels in doing this is a warm pink.
—
Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 7 Jan. 2026
Lithium‑ion excels at fast response for a few hours, but balance‑of‑system and augmentation costs mount as projects stretch toward all‑day duty.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Within that form, bending but never breaking, Smith excels at tonal range.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Enter the vegan alternatives—another area of innovation where Korea excels.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2025
Charlotte excels at two of the most important facets of the game — shooting the 3-pointer and cleaning up its misses on the glass.
—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 29 Dec. 2025
But Scott also excels as a blitzer and in run-stopping scenarios.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 26 Dec. 2025
Not everyone who excels at their job is equipped to manage others.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
But there’s a friction between the core Lumines experience, which excels on mobile, and the bigger aspirations that Arise has for its vision.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 7 Jan. 2026
Lithium‑ion excels at fast response for a few hours, but balance‑of‑system and augmentation costs mount as projects stretch toward all‑day duty.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Within that form, bending but never breaking, Smith excels at tonal range.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Enter the vegan alternatives—another area of innovation where Korea excels.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2025
Charlotte excels at two of the most important facets of the game — shooting the 3-pointer and cleaning up its misses on the glass.
—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 29 Dec. 2025
But Scott also excels as a blitzer and in run-stopping scenarios.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 26 Dec. 2025
Not everyone who excels at their job is equipped to manage others.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
But there’s a friction between the core Lumines experience, which excels on mobile, and the bigger aspirations that Arise has for its vision.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excels
Verb
-
Gartner, with three goals in the Rangers’ 8-3 victory over the Kings, surpasses Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull and Wayne Gretzky.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Even as the New York Yankees’ rivalry with the Boston Red Sox surpasses a century of heated matchups with countless players involved, the competition is continuously revived by each new player that joins one side or the other.—
Peter Chawaga,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The state’s child care subsidy waitlist now exceeds 95,000 children.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Jan. 2026
-
National debt now exceeds $38 trillion, with the government forking out in excess of $270 billion in debt interest payments alone in the final three months of fiscal year 2025.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Nationally, that number tops $148 billion and continues to climb.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Jan. 2026
-
One can surmise that the Iced Dubai Chocolate Matcha tops Starbucks’ iced matcha latte with a chocolate and pistachio-flavored cold foam.—
Sabrina Weiss,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But the data only tells them the ‘what’ not the ‘why’ — which is where experience still eclipses the cold, hard numbers in the data.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Boasting 701 hp, the new 2026 Turbo S eclipses the GT2 RS as the most powerful 911 in history.—
Basem Wasef,
Robb Report,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excels. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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