ecstasy

American  

[ek-stuh-see] / ˈɛk stə si /

noun

• ecstasies
  plural

1. rapturous delight.

2. an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.

   Synonyms:

   elation, bliss, delight

3. the frenzy of poetic inspiration.

4. mental transport or rapture from the contemplation of divine things.

5. (often initial capital letter) MDMA.

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ecstasy British  

/ ˈɛkstəsɪ /

noun

1. (often plural) a state of exalted delight, joy, etc; rapture

2. intense emotion of any kind

   an ecstasy of rage

3. psychol overpowering emotion characterized by loss of self-control and sometimes a temporary loss of consciousness: often associated with orgasm, religious mysticism, and the use of certain drugs

4. archaic a state of prophetic inspiration, esp of poetic rapture

5. slang 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine; MDMA: a powerful drug that acts as a stimulant and can produce hallucinations

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Synonym Usage

Ecstasy, rapture, transport, exaltation share a sense of being taken or moved out of one's self or one's normal state, and entering a state of intensified or heightened feeling. Ecstasy suggests an intensification of emotion so powerful as to produce a trancelike dissociation from all but the single overpowering feeling: an ecstasy of rage, grief, love. Rapture shares the power of ecstasy but most often refers to an elevated sensation of bliss or delight, either carnal or spiritual: the rapture of first love. Transport, somewhat less extreme than either ecstasy or rapture, implies a strength of feeling that results in expression of some kind: They jumped up and down in a transport of delight. Exaltation refers to a heady sense of personal well-being so powerful that one is lifted above normal emotional levels and above normal people: wild exaltation at having finally broken the record.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ecstasies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ecstasy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English extasie, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin extasis, from Greek ékstasis “displacement, trance,” equivalent to ek- ec- + stásis stasis

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Explanation

If you’ve ever been so happy that the rest of the world seemed to disappear, you’ve felt ecstasy — a feeling or state of intensely beautiful bliss. Ecstasy will make you want to write poetry. It happened to John Donne, whose poem “The Ecstasy” is about the feeling of the whole world vanishing when he looks into his lover’s eyes. Sometimes an artist sees a stunning landscape that causes such ecstasy that she has to turn it into a painting. Ecstasy can mean a feeling or it can also be a state of being, so you might say, “I’m in ecstasy because this pumpkin pie tastes so delicious!”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ecstasy ecstasies

In a few seconds the CrossWave had squirted to its top speed of 55 mph and was skipping across the gentle swells in a blaring, brutalizing ecstasy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

An ode to the ecstasy of Scrabble: Do you love hearing someone talk about something they’re really passionate about and know very well, in great intimate detail?

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

They agreed that being exactly right all of the time wasn’t worth the misery of waiting so long to witness a goal—and then being robbed of that moment of ecstasy when it gets overturned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

There's the nervous anticipation as the national anthems rings out around the stadium, the thrill of Kane smacking the ball in the goal, and the ecstasy of victory.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

He was cold, in agony, and on the point of death when his sacrifice bore dark fruit: in the ecstasy of his agony he looked down, and the runes were revealed to him.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

The ecstasies of attraction are sublimated into their long conversations about Boethius and Hildegard von Bingen, or about the suddenly debatable issues of contraception and clerical celibacy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Gary Lineker, who will leave the BBC after hosting his final Match of the Day on Sunday, was the steady hand who guided millions of fans through football's agonies and ecstasies.

From BBC ● May 19, 2025

And Macelaru delivered the triumphant climb of the finale with finely managed intensity, never letting its ecstasies get out from under the players.

From Washington Post ● May 13, 2022

“In her description of maternal horrors and ecstasies, Huisman strikes an airy tone, confiding yet remote and prone to comic understatement,” Michelle Orange writes in her review.

From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2021

The pigs were in ecstasies over Napoleon’s cunning.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell

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Related Words

• elation
• euphoria
• happiness
• joy
• rapture

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