- present participle of exhilarate.
exhilarating
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Something exhilarating is so exciting it makes you a little giddy. "Snowboarding that black-diamond trail was exhilarating!" Zipping through the snow is certainly exhilarating, but ski bunnies and snowboarders might not choose this fancy adjective first. They might just yell, "Woohoo!" It's always been a fun-loving word; its Latin roots mean "gladden, cheer." A ride on a glass elevator with a cute vampire could be exhilarating, and so could a surprise party, or a ride on an old roller coaster. It can be so refreshing, you can't exhale after something exhilarating happens.
Vocabulary lists containing exhilarating
The Giver
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 2
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The Joy Luck Club
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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.
You can hear the songs germinating from lonely inspiration to group transformation — and the sound is exhilarating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 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
Asked which is more exhilarating — scoring a goal or a touchdown — the two looked at each other and said in unison: “A touchdown!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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
The hand-size baby chickens were most exhilarating to Maha.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
