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.
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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
The government ministers who will receive raises are elected lawmakers who lead ministries and help make national policies, while allowances for other lawmakers also will increase.—ABC News,
8 Sep. 2026 Makar gave up future raises by signing for the maximum of eight years, but if Hughes wants three years at $20 million per, the Wild almost surely would do it.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for raise
In the area that later became the United States, as many as 600,000 Native Americans were enslaved during this period, with many more stolen from families into the twentieth century through boarding school, fostering, and adoption programs.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2026
Order the famous Caesar salad and bananas foster for dinner and a show — both are prepared tableside — and take a peek at the Mob Room, where made men used to do business.
One of its major objectives was to provoke Western states into attacking their own democracies, in a kind of auto-immune response to terrorism, in which the effort to defend the political body corroded it from within.
—
Faisal Devji,
Time,
11 Sep. 2026
The development provokes a leadership shake-up on both committees, prompting speculation on who will fill the spots when the next Congress opens in January.
—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Sep. 2026
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.
The billionaire chairman and CEO of WorldQuant has been a pioneer in applying AI and other technologies to vast collections of data, looking to build predictive models from historical information.
—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
11 Sep. 2026
During the pandemic, car production was capped, and automakers used their limited capacity on building luxury cars, like Maseratis.
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.
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