exhilarate

American  

[ig-zil-uh-reyt] / ɪgˈzɪl əˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

exhilarated, exhilarating

1. to enliven; invigorate; stimulate.

   The cold weather exhilarated the walkers.

   Synonyms:

   elate, inspirit, animate

   Antonyms:

   depress

2. to make cheerful or merry.

   Synonyms:

   gladden, cheer

   Antonyms:

   depress

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exhilarate British  

/ ɪɡˈzɪləˌreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to make lively and cheerful; gladden; elate

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Other Word Forms

• exhilaratingly adverb
• exhilaration noun
• exhilarative adjective
• exhilarator noun
• unexhilarated adjective
• unexhilarating adjective

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” ( hilarity ); ex- ¹, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

“This Is Where the Serpent Lives” has that kind of ambition and captures its world in the same exhilarating and unsparing way.

From The Wall Street Journal

I expected frustration in that yawning gap between memory and present ability, but instead, it was exhilarating.

From Salon

Start your personal reading resolution with these visually exhilarating books.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Spanish singer's fourth album is an exhilarating - and profoundly moving - exploration of the human condition, that asks why the earthly and the holy have to be so far apart.

From BBC

There’s something exhilarating about watching people who are the best at what they do doing the thing they do.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• animate
• elate
• exalt
• excite
• thrill
• uplift