animal spirits

American  

noun

1. exuberance arising from an excess of energy; vivacity and good humor.

   The children romped on the lawn, full of animal spirits.

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animal spirits British  

plural noun

1. cheerful and exuberant boisterousness

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Etymology

Origin of animal spirits

First recorded in 1535–45

Example Sentences

There is some space for green shoots to sprout now, or at least for the animal spirits of the economy to emerge from non-stop chaos.

From BBC

Hartnett also referenced the troubles in credit and private equity as examples of peak liquidity and animal spirits.

From MarketWatch

The Chinese Communist Party has tried to boost consumption to a larger share of the economy, but animal spirits are in a box.

From Barron's

Panmure Liberum strategist Joachim Klement noted that in the U.S. value stocks suffered a “lost decade” from 2012 during an era of near-zero interest rates as policymakers artificially repressed the cost of money to rekindle animal spirits in the economy following the global financial crisis.

From MarketWatch

But the tariffs are doing economic damage by raising costs for consumers and businesses and by dampening animal spirits that should be soaring with his tax bill and deregulation.

From The Wall Street Journal