Synonyms for promote

46 synonyms
44 antonyms
4 meanings

verb

Most common

encourage raise push foster elevate advance forward further

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Encourage — to encourage, urge or incite

encourage, raise, push, foster, cultivate, develop, help, stimulate, foment, aid, motivate, serve, assist, propagate, nurture, nourish, quicken, galvanize, galvanise UK, provoke, ameliorate, agitate, conduce formal

2. Elevate — to raise (someone) to a more important, responsible, or remunerative job or rank

elevate, advance, better, aggrandize, aggrandise UK, exalt, uplift, dignify, upgrade, kick upstairs informal, ennoble, prefer dated

3. Forward — to advocate or urge on behalf of (something or someone); to attempt to popularize or sell by means of…

forward, peddle, pitch

4. Further

further, boost

Other

advertise, advertize US, promulgate, tout, talk up, pimp slang US

Antonyms

thwart, curb, marginalize

All antonyms of promote →

Definitions

v. 1
To raise (someone) to a more important, responsible, or remunerative job or rank.
He promoted his clerk to office manager.
v. 2
To advocate or urge on behalf of (something or someone); to attempt to popularize or sell by means of advertising or publicity.
They promoted the new film with giant billboards.
v. 3
To encourage, urge or incite.
v. 4
To elevate to a higher league.
At the end of the season, three teams are promoted to the Premier League.

Related words

Word family: promoter

Forms

Past participle: promoted
e.g. promoted → encouraged, raised, pushed, fostered…

Choose the right word

Promote, Advancing, Elevating, Exalting, Excites or Foment?

We promote a person by advancing, elevating, or exalting him to a higher position or dignity. One who excites a quarrel originates it; to promote a quarrel is strictly to foment and urge it on, the one who promotes keeping himself in the background.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

push He tried with all his might to push the door open.
encourage You often encourage me to be good and hardworking.
foster Yanni moved around from foster home to foster home.
cultivate I continuously find ways to cultivate my passions.
elevate Improved conditions elevate the human experience.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
promote		rising
push		rising
encourage		steady
foster		rising
cultivate		rising
elevate		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: aid¹
4 letters: help¹, push¹, pimp¹, tout¹
5 letters: raise¹, serve¹, pitch¹, boost¹, exalt²
6 letters: better², prefer², assist², foster², uplift², peddle², foment²
7 letters: further², forward², develop³, advance², upgrade², provoke², elevate³, nurture², nourish², quicken², agitate³, dignify³, ennoble³, conduce
8 letters: motivate³
9 letters: encourage³, stimulate³, advertise³, cultivate³, propagate³, galvanize³, galvanise, advertize
10 letters: ameliorate⁴, promulgate³, aggrandize³, aggrandise

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (exalt² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: promouvoir
Italiano: promuovere
Deutsch: befördern