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 stabbing unfolded next to a Times Square police station in one of New York’s busiest corridors, raising fresh questions about safety after another fatal stabbing there in May.—
Jennifer Peltz,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Sep. 2026 The driver, identified by police as 25-year-old Griffin Charles Foy, is seen outside the truck with his hands raised as officers move in to detain him.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
1 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
But the flood of money is also lifting stocks in tech, infrastructure, energy, and construction, delivering gains across generations.
—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
31 Aug. 2026
Latest drone footage from CCTV shows rescue workers using lifting equipment in an attempt to restore and rebuild a road by the turbulent currents and in between the towering mountains.
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.
As the affiliate industry grows, particularly for fashion brands and beauty brands which increasingly route a growing share of sales through such links, the answer is getting harder to parse.
—
Tom Matsuda,
Vogue,
1 Sep. 2026
According to the memo, Google's electric demand is expected to grow faster than Entergy can add new electricity generation.
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
