exhilarate
Americanverb (used with object)
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exhilarates,
present (3rd person singular)
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exhilarated,
past participle, past
-
exhilarating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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exhilarationnoun
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exhilaratornoun
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exhilarativeadjective
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unexhilaratedadjective
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unexhilaratingadjective
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exhilaratinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exhilaratesimple
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exhilaratessimple
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have exhilaratedperfect
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has exhilaratedperfect
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am exhilaratingprogressive
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are exhilaratingprogressive
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is exhilaratingprogressive
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have been exhilaratingperfect progressive
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has been exhilaratingperfect progressive
Past
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exhilaratedsimple
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had exhilaratedperfect
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was exhilaratingprogressive
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were exhilaratingprogressive
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had been exhilaratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exhilarate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin exhilarātus, past participle of exhilarāre “to gladden,” equivalent to ex- “from, out of, beyond” + hilarāre “to cheer” ( see hilarity); see ex- 1, -ate 1
Explanation
Exciting or thrilling things might exhilarate you. If you love acting, just the thought of being on stage might exhilarate you, giving you a feeling of giddy excitement. The Latin word exhilarare meant "to gladden" and exhilarate still holds a similar meaning today. If you feel down, maybe imagining a high, clear sky on a fresh, cool day can exhilarate your spirit. You found out that driving a race car exhilarates you but only makes your friend carsick. I hope you brought some rags.
Vocabulary lists containing exhilarate
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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.
See Examples For:
They were very big shoes to fill, but 110 goals and 75 assists for Chelsea had demonstrated Hazard's ability to consistently excite and exhilarate at the highest level.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2023
Oakeshott understood in 1961 that modernity’s emancipation of the individual from the “warmth of communal pressures” did not exhilarate everyone.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 24, 2021
They’re our life’s towering originals, the difficult ones who infuriate us and exhilarate us in equal measure.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2016
Photograph: John Alex Maguire /Rex Features Winning Words is a project intended to highlight during the 2012 Olympics; it's also an anthology – Winning Words: Inspiring Poems for Everyday Life – designed to exhilarate.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 31, 2012
In his secret life, Walter was a fabulously wealthy entrepreneur. exhilarate.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
He added: "Moana 2 exhilarates with its tunefulness, and absolutely romps along from the moment the heroine gets off the island, bound for another adventure on her trusty outrigger canoe."
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2024
Ever since moving here, I feel like I’ve been searching for that buzz, that indication of what exhilarates the arts patrons in this city.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2022
A sense of sweeping change exhilarates some people, frightens others and causes nearly all to question anxiously just what the changes eventually will mean for the shape and texture of their own lives.
From Time Magazine Archive
That heroic era coincided with Solzhenitsyn's own eight-year term, and its heady air still exhilarates him.
From Time Magazine Archive
It chears the heart, and exhilarates the mind, quiets jars, feuds and discontents, making the most churlish tempers surprizingly kind and loving.
From The Ladies Delight by Anonymous
When he nabbed an undervalued card, he tried to replicate that exhilarated feeling by bidding in more auctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
He said he smashed his keyboard after realising they had discovered a new species, adding that he felt both "exhilarated and relieved".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The band, expanded to include touring keyboardist Loren Gold, seemed exhilarated, if a little stiff at times, a first-night quibble that will surely self-correct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
"I was exhilarated, knowing that this natural insight had led to a major breakthrough," Zargartalebi said.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2024
He pushed a shaky hand through his hair, terrified and exhilarated and breathless.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
No wonder the action sequences never seem exhilarating — Latif may be adept at staying alive, but the sanctity of his soul is another matter entirely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
And zonk it is, indeed; “Date Night” is an exhilarating, high-velocity, uplifting song with a surprisingly singable chorus.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
You can hear the songs germinating from lonely inspiration to group transformation — and the sound is exhilarating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Finally, in 1855, he moved to Europe and became part of an exhilarating bohemian culture in Paris and vanguard art world in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
There is something about riding a unicorn, for those people who still can, which is unlike any other experience: exhilarating and intoxicating and fine.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
