Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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.
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.
First Known Use: 1599
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearSpanish Central: Translation of ebullient Nglish: Translation of ebullient for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ebullient for Arabic speakers
What made you want to look up ebullient? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Emoji Exceptionalism
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔
Take the quiz
Surprisingly specific words for shapes.
Take the quiz
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz
Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.
Play the game
