triumphant
Americanadjective
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having achieved victory or success; victorious; successful.
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exulting over victory; rejoicing over success; exultant.
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Archaic. triumphal.
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Obsolete. splendid; magnificent.
adjective
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experiencing or displaying triumph
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exultant through triumph
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obsolete
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magnificent
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triumphal
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Usage
What does triumphant mean? Triumphant means experiencing, celebrating, or having achieved a triumph—an especially significant or noteworthy victory or success.Triumph is also commonly used as a verb meaning to win, succeed, or be victorious in an epic or spectacular way. Sometimes, it means to conquer. In this case, it’s often used with the word over, and triumphant is used in the same way. An army can be triumphant over enemy forces. In stories, good is triumphant over evil. A person might be said to be triumphant over cancer.Triumphant is especially used in situations in which victory or success has come after great difficulty, adversity, or sacrifice, or over an opponent considered difficult to defeat.Triumphant can describe a person who is or has been victorious, as in They returned to their hometown triumphant, entering to the cheers of the adoring crowd. Sometimes, triumphant describes the state of joy or celebration following a victory or success that is considered a triumph, as in A triumphant feeling filled her as she realized she had won the election. Triumphant can describe something considered a great achievement, as in Her latest novel is triumphant—a masterpiece in every way. The similar adjective triumphal means involving, relating to, or celebrating a triumph.Example: We will not rest until we are triumphant—when we finally victorious over the forces of evil.
Other Word Forms
- triumphantly adverb
- untriumphant adjective
Etymology
Origin of triumphant
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin triumphant-, stem of triumphāns, present participle of triumphāre “to triumph”; triumph, -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an internal memo to employees this December, Pichai sounded a triumphant note.
Some are triumphant—like the time I hosted my entire MFA cohort with a DIY baked potato bar and some donated champagne.
From Salon
The biggest TV show of the year however, was a triumphant first series of The Celebrity Traitors, and the many viral moments that came with it.
From BBC
To return to this idea of the characters wrestling with what life looks like after this is over, if it’s ever over — is a happy or triumphant ending possible?
From Los Angeles Times
Mr. Clayton’s “Finding Ways,” whose triumphant melody coalesces from a loose geometry of intervals, and which relies on tension-and-release, suggests the architecture and motion of music by pianist Andrew Hill, another 1960s Blue Note hero.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
