List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 222

SYNONYMS: lift, raise, rear, elevate, hoist, heave, boost.
These verbs mean to move something from a lower to a higher level or position.

Lift sometimes stresses the expenditure of effort: a trunk too heavy to lift; requires three men to lift the piano.
Raise often implies movement to an approximately vertical position: raised the window slightly; raising a monument to the war dead.
Rear is frequently interchangeable with raise: rear a ladder; rear a flagpole. Her family reared a sumptuous mausoleum over her remains.
Elevate is sometimes synonymous with the preceding terms (used two pillows to keep his head elevated), but it more often suggests exalting, ennobling, or raising morally or intellectually: In his elevated state of mind he wanted to do bigger and better things.
Hoist is applied principally to the lifting of heavy objects, often by mechanical means: hoist a sunken ship; uses a crane to hoist the construction beams.
To heave is to lift or raise with great effort or force: heaved the pack onto his back.
Boost suggests upward movement effected by or as if by pushing from below: boosted the child into the saddle; boost sales; boost morale.