I. uplift | ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from up + lift, past participle of liften to lift
archaic : uplifted
II. up·lift |əp|lift sometimes _əpˈl- verb
Etymology: Middle English upliften, from up + liften to lift
transitive verb
1. : to raise to a higher physical position : lift up ; specifically : to push up (a part of the earth's surface) above the surrounding area
2. : to improve or attempt to improve the condition of especially spiritually, socially, culturally, or intellectually
love uplifts the lover's being — H.O.Taylor
stirring to uplift their masses from age-old conditions of squalor and ignorance — Howard M. Jones
3. Scotland : to take (as money that is owed) into one's possession : collect
4. : raise 5
uplifted their voices in song
intransitive verb
: to rise especially because of geologic forces
III. uplift ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Usage: often attributive
: an act, process, result, or cause of uplifting: as
a.
(1) : the uplifting of a part of the earth's surface either uniform throughout a region or differential (as in tilting)
the uplift of continents drained vast areas of land — W.E.Swinton
(2) : an uplifted mass of land
beyond the desert rise the mountains, the first outlying ranges of that vast uplift — Douglas Carruthers
b. : the upward pressure of water (as on the base of a structure)
c. : an elevation of spirit or emotion
should have brought a larger mentality, a more vital uplift — Cosmopolitan
d. : a bettering of condition : improvement
did for their uplift all that the custom of the times permitted — C.G.Woodson
e.
(1) : influences that are intended to improve especially morally or culturally : the ideas of active participants in programs for improvement especially of moral and cultural standards
night life … is conducted in an atmosphere of furious rectitude, fashionable economy, and intellectual uplift — Gilbert Millstein
all this bosh sounds like uplift ; I teach my students English — W.G.Perry
had been delighted when his daily poem and his uplift editorials first proved successful — Willa Cather
(2) : a social movement to improve especially morally or culturally : the work or cause of uplifting
goes in for public things — very strong on woman suffrage, charities, uplift , and pacifism — O.M.Johnson
owns all the uplift papers — John Buchan
f. : a brassiere designed to hold the breasts up