ebullient

adjective

ebul·​lient i-ˈbu̇l-yənt 

-ˈbəl-

1

: boiling, agitated

2

: characterized by ebullience : having or showing liveliness and enthusiasm

ebullient performers

ebulliently adverb

Did you know?

Someone who is ebullient is bubbling over with enthusiasm, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that ebullient comes from the Latin verb ebullire, which means "to bubble out." When ebullient was first used in the late 1500s its meaning hewed closely to its Latin source: ebullient meant "boiling" or "bubbling," and described things like boiling water and boiling oil instead of someone's bubbly personality. Only later did the word's meaning broaden beyond describing the liveliness of a boiling liquid to encompass emotional liveliness and enthusiasm.

Examples of ebullient in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nazar brings some swagger to the room, Oliver Moore is an ebullient and chatty guy, and Wyatt Kaiser and Spencer Knight have become thoughtful, respected voices in the room. —Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026

The mood was ebullient, partly because while Netflix deemed Warner Bros. —Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026

Fragrance Market Normalizing Executives have noted a slight slowdown in the fragrance market, which has been ebullient for years. —Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 24 Feb. 2026

Which is how a person – an outgoing, strong-willed, ebullient person comes to retire at 16. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin ebullient-, ebulliens, present participle of ebullire to bubble out, from e- + bullire to bubble, boil — more at boil

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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