ecstatic
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characterized by ecstasy or a state of sudden, intense, overpowering emotion.
an ecstatic frenzy;
ecstatic cheering for the winning team.
-
subject to or in a state of ecstasy; full of joy; rapturous.
They are absolutely ecstatic about their new baby.
noun
adjective
-
in a trancelike state of great rapture or delight
-
showing or feeling great enthusiasm
ecstatic applause
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ecstatic
First recorded in 1620–30; from Middle French extatique, and Medieval Latin ecstaticus, from Greek ekstatikós, derivative of ecstasy + -ic ( def. )
Explanation
The adjective ecstatic turns the noun "ecstasy" into a descriptive word. When Celine hit that high note, the audience was ecstatic. Originally, ecstatic had religious connotations having to do with the sheer joy of knowing God or someone truly holy. That meaning remains today, but ecstatic now includes almost anything that's really pleasurable or wonderful. I was ecstatic at the news that I'd been nominated for an award. The entire world reacted with an ecstatic sense of glee when the Berlin Wall finally came down. The hangover the next day, though, wasn't so ecstatic.
Vocabulary lists containing ecstatic
The Giver
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List 3
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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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.
What these ecstatic works signify—and whether they depict angels or demons, predators or prey, creators or destroyers—remains elusive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
But who could resist the ecstatic momentum of her ad hoc band members buying into her grassroots dream?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
There’s more subtlety, more shades of gray, and while it doesn’t have a happy ending either, it offers ecstatic redemption.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
I apologized to the driver for keeping him waiting, and he wanted to know why I was so ecstatic.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was also the construction of a landscape of sacred power, built in an atmosphere of ecstatic religious celebration.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
