Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To cause to feel happily refreshed and energetic; elate: We were exhilarated by the cool, pine-scented air.
- v. To invigorate; stimulate: bold designs that exhilarate the viewer's imagination.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To make cheerful, lively, or merry; render glad or joyous; cheer; enliven; gladden.
- Synonyms To animate, inspirit, elate.
- To become cheerful or joyous.
Wiktionary
- v. archaic To make happy, cheer up.
- v. To refreshingly thrill.
- v. To bring new life to.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To make merry or jolly; to enliven; to animate; to gladden greatly; to cheer
- v. rare To become joyous.
WordNet 3.0
- v. fill with sublime emotion
Etymologies
- From Latin exhilarare ("to gladden, make merry, delight"), from ex ("from") + hilarare ("to cheer up, gladden"), from hilaris ("glad"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin exhilarāre, exhilarāt- : ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + hilarāre, to make cheerful (from hilaris, hilarus, cheerful, from Greek hilaros). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The west's threats must exhilarate the young bloods of the Revolutionary Guard and depress the opposition.”
The Huffington Post: Simon Jenkins: Why Is Britain Ramping Up Sanctions Against Iran?
“They also still exhilarate him: Of course you get scared.”
The Wall Street Journal: Storm Chaser and Tank Blow Into Town
“Lead actor Andreas Lust (also seen in "Revanche," another chilly Austrian drama in which the moral calculus tallies up a psychological cliffhanger) portrays a kind of instinctual animal — or ascetic sociopath, take your pick — whose disciplined urges exhilarate, then implode.”
The Wall Street Journal: Spanning the Cinematic Globe From Midtown
“Its current show, Kooza, now playing at Randall's Island Park, continues to exhilarate.”
Fern Siegel: Stage Door: Blithe Spirit, Cirque's Kooza, Mary Stuart
“At first these photos seemed to exhilarate her, but soon she grew to hate the Vineland pictures, because she felt that the shots were “out of control.””
“The dramatic, satisfying climax and deftly handled resolution of the many plot threads will convince and exhilarate readers.”
“This was not an observation to exhilarate her spirits.”
“What cookery, masking, mirth to exhilarate his person?”
“As soon as Euryalus departed from Senes, Lucretia, his paramour, never looked up, no jests could exhilarate her sad mind, no joys comfort her wounded and distressed soul, but a little after she fell sick and died.”
“One of the Roman emperors had a seed, which he did ordinarily eat to exhilarate himself.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘exhilarate’.
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A-R-A Words
It's an odd-looking pattern in English. Please add words if it makes you happy. :) K-POW! Wow @gulyasrobi!
scarab, Arawak, Sahara, Arab, pharaoh, caravan, carat, parachute, arachnid, Saran Wrap, Sarah, tarantella and 492 more...
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excite
thrill, exhilarate, spark, excite, galvanize, hype, neuromarketing, mesmerise, ballyhoo, showmanship, inspire, effusive and 2 more...
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The Ex-acting Xray
Out of this world via the "X-express".
exorbitant, exuberant, extant, exultant, expectorate, exhilarate, excommunicate, exacting, extenuate, exculpate, extirpate, expostulate and 110 more...
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List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, E
excoriate, exoskeleton, enclave, endemic, erstwhile, entwine, elliptical, élan, earflaps, earlobe, earthen, earthenware and 238 more...
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favorite words
ennui, bonhomie, eschew, liaison, serendipity, lovely, dusk, kitten, epitome, sexy, beloved, darling and 396 more...
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verbs
deprecate, behold, bemoan, circumscribe, circumspect, pivot, discombobulate, rummage, chasten, chastise, undulate, snog and 122 more...
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2007bee-r03
antioxidant, rambla, trafficking, volplane, sluice, jettison, insomnolence, egyptiac, claque, provincial, satisfice, trumpery and 95 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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punnything's Words
existentialist, configure, numismatist, autumnal, desist, ennui, taciturn, vacillate, naivete, bloodletting, tete-a-tete, concentric and 274 more...
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Odessa's Words
defenestration, decathect, effulgent, taciturn, ataraxia, coprophagous, nyctitropic, pernicious, paradox, anachronism, synesthesia, cacophony and 223 more...
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Words to write.
tête-à-tête, exhilarate, wanderlust, flumadiddle, talaria, vandemonianism, smaragdine, mavourneen, chevelure, vanish, blasphemy, unruffled and 2 more...
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misc 2
other stuff.
aloof, diaphanous, lilac, enrich, afterglow, arrhythmia, barrage, unify, unite, converge, crescendo, nutrient and 58 more...
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tmbronk's Words
competent, inform, pedantic, esoteric, utilize, exhibit, exhilarate
Tweets
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