Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

elate

[ih-leyt]
See more synonyms for elate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), e·lat·ed, e·lat·ing.
  1. to make very happy or proud: news to elate the hearer.
Show More
adjective
  1. elated.
Show More

Origin of elate

1350–1400; Middle English elat proud, exalted < Latin ēlātus carried away, lifted up (past participle of efferre), equivalent to ē- e-1 + lā- carry, lift (see translate) + -tus past participle suffix
Related formso·ver·e·late, verb (used with object), o·ver·e·lat·ed, o·ver·e·lat·ing.un·e·lat·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

exhilarategladdenencouragecheer

Examples from the Web for elate

Historical Examples

  • He held out his arms with a gesture indescribable, elate, nervous with his passion.

    Gilian The Dreamer

    Neil Munro

  • He was very sprightly and elate, but I was in no sort of mood to share in his buoyancy.

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

  • The host, elate with the honour of Nell's coming, was eager to offer us accommodation.

    Simon Dale

    Anthony Hope

  • This they knew the desert could never do, and it caused their spirits to elate with hope.

  • I would have been elate but it occurred to me there was an inconsistency.

British Dictionary definitions for elate

elate

verb
  1. (tr) to fill with high spirits, exhilaration, pride or optimism
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from Latin ēlāt- stem of past participle of efferre to bear away, from ferre to carry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for elate

v.

1570s, literal, "to raise, elevate," probably from Latin elatus "uplifted, exalted," past participle of effere (see elation), or else a back-formation from elation. Figurative use from 1610s. Related: Elated; elating.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper