as in surpasses
to be greater, better, or stronger than
the special effects in this new sci-fi extravaganza excel any that we've seen previously
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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 excels
Bain excels in a few other areas that happen to be vital for those chasing QBs for a living.
—
Zak Keefer, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
The German standout excels at finding space, even when closely marked, and has a knack for timing her runs to create separation.
—Fernando Ramirez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Quince excels at crafting high-quality pieces at reasonable prices, and these 100 percent linen pants are a testament to that fact.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2026
And since Robinson and Uche are third-down, pass-rushing specialists, expect Miami to target a defensive end who excels at setting the edge, which is critical for success on first and second down.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
This seems to be where Booker excels the most.
—David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Luckily for her fans, Welch excels at both.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
American capitalism excels at dynamism.
—Nicolas S. Rohatyn, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Anthropic has been gaining momentum recently, releasing its viral coding agent, Claude Code, alongside its Mythos AI model, which excels at identifying weaknesses and security flaws within software.
—Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
Zak Keefer, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
The German standout excels at finding space, even when closely marked, and has a knack for timing her runs to create separation.
—Fernando Ramirez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Quince excels at crafting high-quality pieces at reasonable prices, and these 100 percent linen pants are a testament to that fact.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2026
And since Robinson and Uche are third-down, pass-rushing specialists, expect Miami to target a defensive end who excels at setting the edge, which is critical for success on first and second down.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
This seems to be where Booker excels the most.
—David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Luckily for her fans, Welch excels at both.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
American capitalism excels at dynamism.
—Nicolas S. Rohatyn, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Anthropic has been gaining momentum recently, releasing its viral coding agent, Claude Code, alongside its Mythos AI model, which excels at identifying weaknesses and security flaws within software.
—Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excels
Verb
-
Blue Origin, founded and owed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, has landed and reused its smaller New Shepard suborbital booster numerous times, but New Glenn surpasses New Shepard in difficulty and scale.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
19 Apr. 2026
-
This show, which still prompts belly laughs from my daughter and me even after countless rewatches, meets and surpasses my mother’s bar.—
Jean Garnett,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That amount exceeds the foreign reserves of countries like Costa Rica, Uruguay and Panama, according to an investigation by the Herald in August 2025.—
Sarah Moreno
Updated April 29,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2026
-
California billionaires' combined wealth exceeds $1 trillion.—
Steve Large,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Gap Report, Orlando tops the list of worst cities for affordable housing, with only 13 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.—
Ryan von Weller,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Elliot Anderson tops United’s list for midfield due to his all-action style, but Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is believed to want as much as £125m for him.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Their 517 plate appearances with runners on easily eclipses the next-closest team, the Washington Nationals (484).—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The moon eclipses the sun in a view captured by the Artemis II crew on Monday.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excels. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
