rejoice

American  

[ri-jois] / rɪˈdʒɔɪs /

verb (used without object)

• rejoices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rejoiced,
  past participle,  past
• rejoicing
  present participle

1. to be glad; take delight (often followed byin ).

   to rejoice in another's happiness.

   Synonyms:

   glory, exult, revel

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verb (used with object)

• rejoices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rejoiced,
  past participle,  past
• rejoicing
  present participle

1. to make joyful; gladden.

   a song to rejoice the heart.

rejoice British  

/ rɪˈdʒɔɪs /

verb

1. to feel or express great joy or happiness

2. archaic (tr) to cause to feel joy

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rejoicer
  noun
• rejoicing
  noun
• prerejoice
  verb (used without object)
• rejoiceful
  adjective
• unrejoiced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• rejoicing
  present
• rejoiced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rejoice
  simple
• rejoices
  simple
• have rejoiced
  perfect
• has rejoiced
  perfect
• am rejoicing
  progressive
• are rejoicing
  progressive
• is rejoicing
  progressive
• have been rejoicing
  perfect progressive
• has been rejoicing
  perfect progressive

Past

• rejoiced
  simple
• had rejoiced
  perfect
• was rejoicing
  progressive
• were rejoicing
  progressive
• had been rejoicing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rejoice
  simple
• will have rejoiced
  perfect
• will be rejoicing
  progressive
• will have been rejoicing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of rejoice

1275–1325; Middle English rejoicen < Old French rejouiss-, long stem of rejouir, equivalent to re- re- + jouir to rejoice; see joy

Explanation

To rejoice is to be incredibly happy, or to express your incredible happiness. If you just won millions in the lottery, you might rejoice by screaming at the top of your lungs. When you rejoice, you celebrate or feel extreme happiness. You might rejoice after scoring the winning goal in a championship game, or you might rejoice when you receive an amazing gift on your birthday. You’ll often hear this word in the phrase “let us rejoice,” especially in some religious settings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rejoice rejoices rejoiced rejoicing

An old book to revisit: Octavia Butler fans, rejoice!

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

If you did something good, rejoice, something bad, repent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

But when two rescuers from Chile and the United States finally reached him after more than three days of complex operations, Gil couldn't bring himself to rejoice.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

Offill predicts a near future in which readers will once again rejoice in epic novels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026

His longings would have been familiar to W. E. B. Du Bois, who, when he was almost exactly Fuller’s age, had written in his diary: I rejoice as a strong man to run a race.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

When a Ferrari driver triumphs in F1, the team's spiritual home of Maranello rejoices.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

As energy bills soar elsewhere in the world, "Our property manager has announced a 20 percent reduction in heating and hot water bills for 2026 and 2027," rejoices the 69-year-old retiree.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

I don’t think you’ll find a hostage family that rejoices in that.

From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2023

Even as she rejoices, “A home in you I’ve found,” the chords circle around a minor key and she sounds cautious, almost disbelieving.

From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2023

“Indeed! This worthless one rejoices that it is so. And what of my revered friend, your half brother and protector, Gebu the stonecutter? Is he also well?”

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

"The theory not only reproduces the experiment but also provides the basis for guiding future discoveries in this system," rejoiced Schiró.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

The cohort of mostly 70-something players in the dugout rejoiced, waving their caps and hollering.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

And that was the tune belted out from the west section of the national stadium as the City players lifted the trophy amid the pyrotechnics, and fans rejoiced by serenading Semenyo.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

Machete in hand, Romee resident Jean-Paul Bitilaongi rejoiced at their successful bid to keep the forest out of reach of the "rich people" he says are trying to plunder it.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

Jody rejoiced, for he knew that only a mean-souled horse does not resent training.

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

"Everybody was rejoicing to know that we get saved because we thought we were going to die," Olympia Outten, one of the passengers on the plane, said afterwards.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

There was much rejoicing and the oil was able to flow once more and prices returned almost to where they had been before the strait was closed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Benjamin Samat, a French influencer living in Dubai, took to Instagram to lash out at "those who on social media are rejoicing that the French are going through this".

From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026

Not everyone can shed jealousy, let alone manage “compersion,” which entails rejoicing in a partner’s happiness with someone else.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026

There was a general feeling of privilege and rejoicing, as if the daughter of Caesar were passing through a sort of initiation into the glorious state of being a full Roman citizen.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

Related Words

• exult
• revel