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Synonyms

rapturous

American  
[rap-cher-uhs] / ˈræp tʃər əs /

adjective

  1. full of, feeling, or manifesting ecstatic joy or delight.

  2. characterized by, attended with, or expressive of such rapture.

    rapturous praise.


rapturous British  
/ ˈræptʃərəs /

adjective

  1. experiencing or manifesting ecstatic joy or delight

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of rapturous

First recorded in 1670–80; rapture + -ous

Explanation

If you're blissfully happy, you're rapturous. You could describe your purring cat rolling around in catnip as rapturous. The adjective rapturous is great for describing someone who's delighted, like the rapturous excitement of a room full of teenagers at their favorite pop star's concert, or the rapturous look on a child's face when she opens her birthday present and finds exactly what she had hoped for. The root word of rapturous is the Latin raptus or "a carrying off," and until the mid-1600s, that's exactly what rapture was used to mean.

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Vocabulary lists containing rapturous

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.

Rapturous critical notices lifted "Moonlight" at the art house box office this weekend.

From Reuters • Oct. 23, 2016

Rapturous crowds, a reverential White House welcome, a trumpet fanfare, TV networks hanging on his every word: the United States isn’t merciful with his desire to be humble.

From The Guardian • Sep. 23, 2015

Rapturous crowds greet Francis worldwide; a million or more people are expected to attend his outdoor Mass in Philadelphia on Sept. 26.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2015

Via Stravinsky, a Girl and a Doll, Rapturous and Mechanized The story told by the New York Philharmonic program “A Dancer’s Dream” last week was curious, even chilling.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2013

As the Cain ceased, we began to discover the pleasing & Rapturous appearance of the plains of Kentucky, a New Sky & Strange Earth to be presented to our view....

From The Conquest of the Old Southwest; the romantic story of the early pioneers into Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1740-1790 by Henderson, Archibald