elate
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
elatesimple
-
elatessimple
-
have elatedperfect
-
has elatedperfect
-
am elatingprogressive
-
are elatingprogressive
-
is elatingprogressive
-
have been elatingperfect progressive
-
has been elatingperfect progressive
Past
-
elatedsimple
-
had elatedperfect
-
was elatingprogressive
-
were elatingprogressive
-
had been elatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of elate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English elat “proud, exalted,” from Latin ēlātus “borne away, lifted up,” past participle of efferre “to bear away, lift up,” from ē- e- 1 + ferre “to bear, bring, carry”; for the element -lātus, earlier tlātus (unrecorded), see also thole 2 ( def. ), tolerate ( def. )
Explanation
To elate is to fill with happiness. If you are elated, you are thrilled. You are walking on air. Elate sounds a bit like inflate. Although the words are not related, if you elate someone the feeling is probably a bit like inflating them — filling them with happiness, making them feel as though they're floating above the ground. Not surprisingly, the word's original sixteenth century meaning was "to physically lift or raise up."
Vocabulary lists containing elate
5-letter words, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Poems 11.2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
And if you can hear a song as irresistible as “Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat” and not feel your soul elate, you may be a stranger to joy.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2020
McQueen worked the way a dreaming brain does, transmuting suppressed instinct into images that can trouble, mystify, and elate.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 21, 2016
“One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament,” he added.
From New York Times • Jun. 10, 2010
At each convention, he managed to control and placate, if not to elate, both the flaming Northern liberals and the truculent Southern conservatives on the explosive issue of civil rights.
From Time Magazine Archive
First, I smiled to myself and felt elate; but this fierce pleasure subsided in me as fast as did the accelerated throb of my pulses.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
