to bring (something volatile or intense) into being
a proposal to cover the library's red brick with vinyl siding raised a mighty ruckus with those favoring historical preservation
How does the verb raise contrast with its synonyms?
Some common synonyms of raise are boost, elevate, heave, hoist, lift, and rear. While all these words mean "to move from a lower to a higher place or position," raise carries a stronger implication of bringing up to the vertical or to a high position.
scouts raising a flagpole
In what contexts can boost take the place of raise?
The synonyms boost and raise are sometimes interchangeable, but boost suggests assisting to climb or advance by a push.
boosted his brother over the fence
How does the word elevate relate to other synonyms for raise?
Elevate may replace lift or raise especially when exalting or enhancing is implied.
elevated the taste of the public
When might heave be a better fit than raise?
In some situations, the words heave and raise are roughly equivalent. However, heave implies lifting and throwing with great effort or strain.
heaved the heavy crate inside
When could hoist be used to replace raise?
The words hoist and raise can be used in similar contexts, but hoist implies lifting something heavy especially by mechanical means.
hoisted the cargo on board
When is it sensible to use lift instead of raise?
Although the words lift and raise have much in common, lift usually implies exerting effort to overcome resistance of weight.
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of raise
Verb
The market widely anticipates that the Bank of Japan could raise interest rates further in September.—CNBC,
9 Sep. 2026 Stepping inside one with feet apart and hands raised overhead now is a familiar ritual for most travelers.—
Rio Yamat,
Fortune,
8 Sep. 2026
Noun
And their demands for power and water raise costs for consumers and impose on resources that may already be under stress.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Aug. 2026 Multiple price target boosts for Williams-Sonoma after yesterday’s beat-and-raise.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for raise
Bum-seok, Sung-ae, and Sung-ki do find a shambolic Hawksian unity, after a fashion; Sung-ae, in particular, has only to step out of a car with a military-grade rifle to elicit spontaneous applause.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
4 Sep. 2026
The period war epic, confidently backed for some $14 million, elegantly weaves three gay narratives from different periods that all elicit deep emotion.
These grew louder each time a Ferrari left its garage and entered the pit lane before softening again, a call and response that echoed around the circuit.
—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2026
Its growing fleets of electric motorcycles and buses have been less exposed to the fuel-price shock than peers elsewhere on the continent, and have seen demand rise.
By increasing the carrier density in the neighbouring graphene bilayer, the team progressively weakened the Coulomb interactions between electrons in the magic-angle graphene.
The cores or plugs removed from the lawn during aeration actually increase the success of overseeding by providing more direct contact between the seeds and the soil.
Copy Citation
