exhilarate · verb — to cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate. It carries an Arena rating of 1864, earned across 81 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, exhilarate ranks #1,219 of 17,165 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,235 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,422 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #1,513 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
exhilarate is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɪləɹeɪt/.
Why “exhilarate” is a great word
EXHILARATE — [Verb] To make someone feel very happy, animated, and full of lively excitement. From Latin exhilarāre (“to gladden, make merry”), from ex- (“thoroughly”) + hilarāre (“to cheer”), from hilaris (“cheerful”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful, merry”), from ἵλαος (hílaos, “gracious, propitious”). First recorded in English use in the 1530s. Unlike “elate,” which implies a quiet, internal pride, or “stimulate,” which can rouse mere interest, to exhilarate is to flood the spirit with kinetic joy. It is the sudden, cold rush of wind at a cliff’s edge, the collective roar that lifts you from your seat, the pure, wordless speed of a downhill sprint—a brief, physical proof that you are thrillingly, undeniably alive.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Latin exhilarō (“to delight, to gladden, to make merry”), from ex- (“out, away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + hilarō (“to cheer, to gladden”), from hilaris (“cheerful, light-hearted, lively”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful, merry”), from ἵλαος (hílaos, “gracious, kind, propitious”), from Proto-Indo-European *selh₂- (“comfort, mercy”). By surface analysis, ex- + Latin hilar(ō) + -ate.
verb
- To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate.e.g.“Good news exhilarates the mind; wine exhilarates the drinker.”
- To excite, to thrill.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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