verb
-
to be joyful or jubilant, esp because of triumph or success; rejoice
-
(often foll by over) to triumph (over); show or take delight in the defeat or discomfiture (of)
Usage
What does exult mean? Exult means to express or experience triumph or happiness, as in The gambler always exults after winning the big jackpot. Exult can be confused for the similarly spelled word exalt. Exalt has several meanings, including to elevate in rank, power or quality and to praise. Example: Your project winning a national contest is something to exult about!
Other Word Forms
- exultation noun
- exultingly adverb
- self-exulting adjective
Etymology
Origin of exult
1560–70; < Latin ex ( s ) ultāre to leap up, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + -sultāre (combining form of saltāre to leap)
Explanation
Sometimes you might feel so happy about something you could just burst. This is the time to exult, or rejoice, and you might show your great happiness by laughing, dancing, and shouting with pure joy. To exult means to express your joy in some visible way. Some people exult in a sedate manner, maybe just enjoying their happiness quietly within themselves. Others are more emotional, perhaps expressing their triumph in a loud or physical manner. When you break the word down into its Latin parts, the ex- means "out," and saltāre means "to leap." So exult means to leap with joy.
Vocabulary lists containing exult
List 5
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Hatchet
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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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.
“No grownups!” the boys exult, upon realizing they are on a deserted island after the plane evacuating them from Britain is shot down.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
In his 1908 book, “Orthodoxy,” Chesterton wrote: “Grown-up people aren’t strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
It’s a thumping, reverberating, woofer-rattling, arena-scale sensation, something to exult in even when it doesn’t always go right.
From New York Times • May 3, 2024
Frankie and Zeke exult in their profundity, but the real triumph here is Wilson’s.
From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2022
“I knew it! I knew it! Oh, my Jo, I am so proud!” and Beth ran to hug her sister and exult over this splendid success.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
