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
Every improvement has ripple effects, and the challenge lies in finding a solution that works across the board rather than excelling in one area and failing in another.
—
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
There is also no real hurry since Gavin Sheets is excelling while filling in for him, playing left field as Ramón Laureano mans center.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Schoolhouse The day his essay was published, a college admissions influencer with over 700,000 Instagram followers posted a guide on excelling at Dialogues to help kids get into their dream schools, and over 1,900 users asked in the comments for more details.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
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
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
There is also no real hurry since Gavin Sheets is excelling while filling in for him, playing left field as Ramón Laureano mans center.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Schoolhouse The day his essay was published, a college admissions influencer with over 700,000 Instagram followers posted a guide on excelling at Dialogues to help kids get into their dream schools, and over 1,900 users asked in the comments for more details.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excelling
Verb
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As experts, the members of Forbes Business Council have experience implementing customer service best practices without exceeding their budget or overwhelming their team.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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An American Medical Association survey of 13,000 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in 2022 reflected rates of burnout exceeding 50% in several key specialties.—
Patrick Aguilar,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Most good thrillers escalate gradually, with each twist surpassing the last.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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Oracle on Wednesday jumped from being the 13th-most valuable company in the S&P 500 to the 10th most-valuable, surpassing the market value of Eli Lilly (LLY), Walmart (WMT) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Trump is a man of many hats Immigration has become the dominant political issue in Britain, eclipsing concerns over a faltering economy, as the country faces a record number of asylum claims.—
Vitalii Yalahuzian,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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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
Verb
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The Stakes in Group C Supplied Bafana Bafana will host Nigeria, knowing that a victory could effectively eliminate the Super Eagles' chances of topping Group C, unless off-field issues alter the situation.—
Sindiswa Mabunda,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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By scooping her chocolate cake into dessert glasses and topping it with icing and strawberries, Gaines tapped into this centuries-old dessert tradition.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excelling. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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