ebullient

adjective

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ebul·lient | \ i-ˈbu̇l-yənt

, -ˈbəl- \

Definition of ebullient

1 : boiling, agitated

2 : characterized by ebullience : having or showing liveliness and enthusiasm ebullient performers

Other Words from ebullient Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about ebullient

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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 Not the least of these: The magpie must learn to fly again and the once-ebullient Sam must find a way to, well, soar once more. — Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, "Review: A bird inspires Naomi Watts in family drama ‘Penguin Bloom’," 27 Jan. 2021 Startups are rushing into the space, in some cases armed with cheap capital from an ebullient stock market. — Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, "Amazon Needs Electric Vehicles, Too," 22 Jan. 2021 Jesus Is Born followed in that vein with an ebullient gospel sound, contrasting with Emmanuel's more hymnal approach. — Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, "Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir drops surprise Christmas EP Emmanuel," 26 Dec. 2020 Mariah Carey’s ebullient holiday jingle is first and foremost a great pop song, with abundant hooks and a propulsive beat. — Jody Rosen, Los Angeles Times, "The 50 best Christmas songs of the last 50 years," 14 Dec. 2020 Things have toned down a bit with the arrival of winter — some of the laser-cut plywood frills were replaced by roofing, for instance — but the ebullient DIY spirit remains. — John King, SFChronicle.com, "San Francisco is having a parklet moment. Here are 11 cool ones to check out right now," 27 Nov. 2020 An ebullient Smith strayed from the measured party line. — Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, "Upset of Vikings gives Cowboys jolt: ‘We’re going to go 7-0’," 23 Nov. 2020 One of the Twin Cities’ most ubiquitous and ebullient musicians, John Munson of Semisonic and New Standards fame suffered a stroke late last week but is already on the rebound and pledging more music before the end of year. — Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune, "Semisonic, New Standards bassist John Munson on the mend from stroke," 10 Nov. 2020 The pandemic hasn’t slowed Jonathan Anderson’s ebullient creativity. — Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, "JW Anderson Has Some Advice for Young Designers: “Keep it Small, Keep it Agile, and Carve Out Your Unique Voice”," 18 Oct. 2020

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.