exuberant
Americanadjective
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effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant.
an exuberant welcome for the hero.
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abounding in vitality; extremely joyful and vigorous.
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extremely good; overflowing; plentiful.
exuberant health.
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profuse in growth or production; luxuriant; superabundant.
exuberant vegetation.
adjective
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abounding in vigour and high spirits; full of vitality
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lavish or effusive; excessively elaborate
exuberant compliments
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growing luxuriantly or in profusion
Other Word Forms
- exuberance noun
- exuberantly adverb
- overexuberant adjective
- overexuberantly adverb
- unexuberant adjective
- unexuberantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of exuberant
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin exūberant-, stem of exūberāns “abounding,” present participle of exūberāre “to be abundant,” from ex- ex- 1 + ūberāre “to be fruitful” (verb derivative of ūber “fertile”; udder )
Explanation
Are you feeling really happy and enthusiastic about something? Describe yourself with the adjective exuberant! Exuberant can be traced back to the same Indo-European root that has brought the word udder. If you picture the plentiful amount of milk a cow can give, it is easy to remember that exuberant always describes something that is abundant or plentiful like exuberant foliage. Abundance also comes into play in its primary use today to mean "very enthusiastic, full of energy or overjoyed." When the bell rings on the last day of school, you will be exuberant.
Vocabulary lists containing exuberant
The Giver
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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Words to Capture Your Joy
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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.
The most important lesson from that irrationally exuberant time is that overvaluation can lead to below-average returns for years — and even decades.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
The group, according to Burke, spontaneously began chanting an exuberant Australian cheer: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, oi, oi!”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
"Within 24 hours, my relationship to its wild, abrasive, exuberant, heart-filled yet harsh ferocity was sealed," she recalls.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
And on this night, that’s exactly what progress looks like — an exuberant party that extends a hand for everyone to dance with a neighbor.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026
The audience applause, which was enthusiastic at each Naming, rose in an exuberant swell when one parental pair, glowing with pride, took a male newchild and heard him named Caleb.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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.
