rhapsodize

American  

[rap-suh-dahyz] / ˈræp səˌdaɪz /

especially British, rhapsodise

verb (used without object)

rhapsodized, rhapsodizing

1. to talk with extravagant enthusiasm.

2. to speak or write rhapsodies.

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verb (used with object)

rhapsodized, rhapsodizing

1. to recite as a rhapsody.

rhapsodize British  

/ ˈræpsəˌdaɪz /

verb

1. to speak or write (something) with extravagant enthusiasm

2. (intr) to recite or write rhapsodies

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Etymology

Origin of rhapsodize

First recorded in 1600–10; rhapsod(y) + -ize

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Explanation

Use the verb rhapsodize to refer to speaking with extreme enthusiasm — and often at great length, like that friend who tends to rhapsodize about her favorite movie for twenty minutes straight. To correctly pronounce rhapsodize, say "RAP-so-dies." A rhapsody is a conversation or speech that is elaborate and very emotional, so to rhapsodize is to speak that way. Someone with a tendency to rhapsodize gets carried away with the emotion of the topic. That's why when you rhapsodize you don't always notice that listeners stop listening if they don't share the same passion.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rhapsodize rhapsodized rhapsodizing

She knew how to poke fun at pious men in frilly dickeys, and rhapsodize on the pleasures found in everyday life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

He could rhapsodize about live theater for hours if you let him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025

Romantic partners gush about love at first sight; parents rhapsodize about meeting their babies for the first time.

From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2023

West's faithful are more likely to rhapsodize about the way 2004's "The College Dropout" changed the pattern of their brainwaves.

From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2022

Madoc is patiently listening to her rhapsodize over the perfection of their garments.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Visiting international fans have rhapsodized about our hospitality and gushed over culinary miracles like ranch dressing and Philly cheesesteak while trekking to Costco like it is our version of the pyramids.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Back in 2005, when Roberts rhapsodized about Indiana farmland and an endless horizon punctuated only by silos and barns, he was substituting a humble, real-life Midwest upbringing for his own.

From Slate ● May 7, 2026

Though her character in “Fleabag” famously rhapsodized the postmenopausal life, for female actors, she says, the reality can be a bit less glorious.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2024

King Charles has rhapsodized about the charms of Romania for decades.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

Then she's so gentle and so kind," he rhapsodized, "and she thinks so little about herself!

From Mademoiselle Blanche A Novel by John David Barry

So a year or so back, when she began to notice influencers rhapsodizing about planning a “’90s summer” for their own children, she took notice.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I once wrote a column rhapsodizing how foraging at the local warehouse store satisfied some primitive masculine need to hunt and gather.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2022

That is Ingmar Bergman, in his memoir “The Magic Lantern,” rhapsodizing on his “secret love,” the island of Faro in the Baltic Sea.

From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

USC needs to remove Clay Helton right here, right now, no more waiting, no more waffling, no more rationalizing, no more rhapsodizing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2021

He became crazy, foggy, his head always in the clouds, and rhapsodizing what neither himself nor any one else could understand.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4 by Thomas Jefferson Randolph

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