Definition of EBULLIENT

Did You Know?

Someone who is ebullient is bubbling over with enthusiasm, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that the adjective ebullient derives from the Latin verb ebullire, which means "to bubble out." (The stem bullire is an ancestor of our word boil and derives from bulla, the Latin word for "bubble.") In its earliest known uses in English in the late 1500s, ebullient was used in the sense of "boiling" or "bubbling" that might have described a pot simmering on the stove. Only later did the word's meaning broaden to encompass emotional agitation (particularly of the exuberant kind) in addition to the tempestuous roiling of a boiling liquid.

Examples of ebullient in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web When Frozen 2 begins, everything seems perfectly happy for Elsa (Idina Menzel), her ever-ebullient sister Anna (Kristen Bell), their sentient snowman pal Olaf (Josh Gad), and more. — Josh Spiegel, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Frozen 2' and Its Unanswered Elsa Questions," 23 Nov. 2019 The nearly 14-month-long process of recovery has been an exasperating time for the usually ebullient McCoughtry (St. Frances), who was forced to sit out the Dream’s eventual loss to the Washington Mystics in the WNBA semifinals. — Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore’s Angel McCoughtry has no plans to retire from basketball as she rehabs knee, enters free agency," 2 Oct. 2019 Democratic politics has forever rewarded candidates who are colorful, ebullient, and at times gymnastic in their relationship with facts. — Nancy Gibbs, Time, "The Danger of Donald Trump’s Ignorance," 1 Oct. 2019 Beanie also played studious senior Molly in this summer’s ebullient and tender Booksmart, a last-gasp-of-high-school buddy movie directed by Olivia Wilde. — Nona Willis Aronowitz, Teen Vogue, "Beanie Feldstein on Playing Teens, Besties, and Falling in Love," 1 Oct. 2019 It was followed by a successful 2000 Broadway revival, but may be best known for the ebullient 1962 movie starring Preston and Shirley Jones. — Laura Demarco, cleveland, "‘The Music Man’ at Great Lakes Theater a joyful, sparkling success (review)," 1 Oct. 2019 The festival’s grand finale features the ebullient, legendary pianist-bandleader, who shows no signs of slowing down at age 82. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "What not to miss as Jazz Fest gets into full swing this weekend," 29 Aug. 2019 In the wake of his death, those close to him noted that Seau, outwardly ebullient and carefree, had been struggling with the transition from football, facing gambling problems and other financial stress and exhibiting signs of depression. — The Si Staff, SI.com, "100 Figures Who Shaped the NFL’s First Century," 28 Aug. 2019 But Davis underperformed and was immediately overshadowed by Quinnen Williams, the ebullient nose guard who burst on the scene and won the Outland Trophy. — Rainer Sabin | Rsabin@al.com, al, "Alabama DL Raekwon Davis ready to make most of (surprising) senior year," 29 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ebullient.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Learn More about ebullient

Listen to Our Podcast about ebullient

Dictionary Entries near ebullient

Statistics for ebullient

Last Updated

7 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Ebullient.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ebullient. Accessed 14 December 2019.