extol

/ɪkˈstəʊl/

//ɪkˈstəʊl// verb

"extol" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“extol” is uncommon English (frequency #66,649 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,649
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To praise; to make high.

Corpus desk

Index EN-extol · extol · English

extol · rank #66,649 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,649
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH excrete

Nearest frequency peer: excrete (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “extol”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “extol” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for extol
PropertyValue
Headwordextol
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪkˈstəʊl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#66,649
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “extol” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).extolfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “excrete” (#66,648), “fairplay” (#66,651), “evaluative” (#66,646). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “extol” is #66,649. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

extol is uncommon English at frequency #66,649 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪkˈstəʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To praise; to make high.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for extol, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin extollō (“elevate, raise high”). The correct English form is extol, spelled E-X-T-O-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To praise; to make high.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how extol appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
  2. It not only congratulates the Pope, but panegyrizes his Holiness, extols the college of cardinals and the bishops of Italy, calls upon the ashes of the martyrs to rejoice, apostrophizes Peter and Paul, and pays many fine compliments to happy Britain, although dissentient from the Romish faith;—it then reverts, in conclusion, to the Pope, and ends with int…

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin extollō (“elevate, raise high”).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "extol"?
"extol" is spelled E-X-T-O-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪkˈstəʊl/.
What does "extol" mean?
As a verb, "extol" means: To praise; to make high.
How do you pronounce "extol"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "extol" is /ɪkˈstəʊl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "extol"?
Borrowed from Latin extollō (“elevate, raise high”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "extol", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list