- 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.
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
But the real exhilarating and exultant joy is that of the chase — two very different men forced on the run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
It was exhilarating as strangers and former pupils popped in, from India to Brazil to Ukraine to a block away from where I lived.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
It’s the most exhilarating experience I’ve had at the movies this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It was an exhilarating walk through the crisp, clear air, the leaves thick and soft along the quiet trails, and over everything the indefinable healing peace and stillness of the northland bush.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
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.
