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
With Coker excelling in the slot and McMillan handling the X position, Legette and Brazzell could find themselves in a pretty notable camp competition, along with Metchie, Horn and Brycen Tremayne.
—
Charlotte Observer, 25 Apr. 2026
His kids started in the Mansfield school district and are excelling in the classroom.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2026
Or without fellow championship holdovers like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard excelling in their supporting roles.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
But after excelling in soccer, those interests went unexplored.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026
Linus Karlsson Karlsson was the best Canucks forward this season, excelling as a two-way contributor and point producer in a depth role during a lost season.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Third Future has established a reputation across its 12 campuses for excelling at improving student outcomes.
—Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 24 Mar. 2026
And Jordan's performances as Smoke and Stack are indeed confident and distinctive, not just in their different sartorial choices but in their mannerisms, with the actor excelling at portraying both Smoke's stoic practicality and Stack's swaggering charm.
—Ken Simmons, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Flagship smartphones have quietly become capable of astrophotography, with ‘night modes’ often excelling at revealing stars, the Milky Way and aurora.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Charlotte Observer, 25 Apr. 2026
His kids started in the Mansfield school district and are excelling in the classroom.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2026
Or without fellow championship holdovers like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard excelling in their supporting roles.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
But after excelling in soccer, those interests went unexplored.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026
Linus Karlsson Karlsson was the best Canucks forward this season, excelling as a two-way contributor and point producer in a depth role during a lost season.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Third Future has established a reputation across its 12 campuses for excelling at improving student outcomes.
—Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 24 Mar. 2026
And Jordan's performances as Smoke and Stack are indeed confident and distinctive, not just in their different sartorial choices but in their mannerisms, with the actor excelling at portraying both Smoke's stoic practicality and Stack's swaggering charm.
—Ken Simmons, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Flagship smartphones have quietly become capable of astrophotography, with ‘night modes’ often excelling at revealing stars, the Milky Way and aurora.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excelling
Verb
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Doe is seeking damages exceeding $75,000, along with other punitive damages and other relief to be determined at trial.—
Lexi Nicklaus,
Baltimore Sun,
28 Apr. 2026
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Both teams had playoff probabilities exceeding 85% just a few weeks ago.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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True to form, on Friday night Richardson went 45-5, fouled and hit 48-8 before surpassing 49 feet on all of his last three jumps.—
Steve Brand,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
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After success domestically, some of China’s biggest carmakers are expanding worldwide, with BYD surpassing Ford in global sales last year—while selling only EVs and hybrids.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Analysts say the biennial auto show in China's capital, which opened to media on Friday, shows how its auto industry is setting the global pace for cutting-edge technologies in areas such as electric vehicles and batteries, eclipsing many foreign brands that used to dominate the global market.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
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What’s next, a robotic baseball player named Babe that swats 500-foot home runs and throws 120 mph pitches, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s real-life achievements and commanding a billion dollar contract?—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The event will celebrate its 25th year on the polo fields in Indio, this time with Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G topping the lineup.—
Andrea Domanick,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Plus, the chocolate ganache topping has just a touch of fresh mint flavor.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excelling. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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