elate means elated; exultant. It carries an Arena rating of 1724, earned across 53 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, elate ranks #1,667 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,139 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,162 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #4,883 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
elate is pronounced /ɪˈleɪt/.
Why “elate” is a great word
ELATE — [Verb, Adjective (rare)] To fill with buoyant joy or pride; (archaically) lifted up or exalted in spirit. From Middle English elat, elate, from Latin ēlātus, the perfect passive participle of efferō ("to carry out, bring forth; to lift up, exalt"). First recorded in English in the 14th century. Unlike "exhilarate," which implies a thrilling, outward rush, or "elevate," which denotes a mere rise in position, to be elated is to be borne aloft by a quiet, profound current of fulfillment. It is the silent, swelling pride in a parent's chest at a graduation, the sudden, weightless clarity upon receiving long-awaited news, and the serene vantage of a hilltop after an arduous climb—a buoyancy of spirit that feels, however briefly, like a defiance of gravity.
Etymology
From Middle English elat, elate, from Latin ēlātus (“exalted, lofty”), perfect passive participle of efferō (“bring forth or out; raise; exalt”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
adj
- Elated; exultant.e.g.“Oh thoughtless Mortals! ever blind to Fate,
Too soon dejected, and dejected, and too soon elate.” — 1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC, canto III:
- Lifted up; raised; elevated.e.g.“c. 1707, Elijah Fenton, a letter to the Knight of the Sable Shield
with upper lip elate”
verb
- To make joyful or proud.e.g.“That happy minute would elate me, / End all my sorrow, grief, and cares; / Then do not frown, altho' you hate me, / But smile and dissipate my fears: […]” — 1749, The Universal Magazine, volume 4, page 321:
- To lift up; raise; elevate.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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