exhilaration
Americannoun
-
exhilarated condition or feeling.
- Synonyms:
- hilarity, jollity, joyousness, animation
-
the act of exhilarating.
Etymology
Origin of exhilaration
First recorded in 1615–25, exhilaration is from the Late Latin word exhilarātiōn- (stem of exhilarātiō ). See exhilarate, -ion
Explanation
Exhilaration is great joy, and excitement and liveliness! When you ride an ocean wave, hear a favorite song, or have a long and uncontrollable laugh with friends, there's a feeling of exhilaration, an overflow of happiness. Most people have moments of exhilaration (egg-zill-uh-RAY-shun), sometimes during life's big moments, like a graduation or wedding, and often while just walking down the street and feeling great about the day and being alive. And exhilaration is contagious: when you witness someone else's exhilaration, it usually makes you full of warmth and joyousness too. Some synonyms of exhilaration also sound close to it, like "exultation," "exaltation," and "elation." As they say, it's all good.
Vocabulary lists containing exhilaration
Lord of the Flies
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Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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The Pearl
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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.
A little bit of consumer cheer alongside the AI exhilaration wouldn’t go amiss.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
England's fans were carried out of the magnificent Dallas Stadium into the warm night air on a carpet of exhilaration after Thomas Tuchel's side delivered a powerful statement of intent.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
She and Dan’s father are pushing him toward college and a stable career, but, like Tamma, Dan is addicted to the exhilaration and challenge of climbing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Does the olfactory exhilaration also enhance play-calling, amplifying one’s grasp of X’s and O’s?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026
He’d always had that effect on me, filling me with dizzying exhilaration one moment, then sending me into a nervous, stuttering panic the next.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
