ecstatic

adjective ec·stat·ic \ ek-ˈsta-tik , ik-ˈsta- \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

Examples: ecstatic in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of ecstatic

: of, relating to, or marked by ecstasy

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ecstatically

play \ek-ˈsta-ti-k(ə-)lē, ik-ˈsta-\ adverb

See ecstatic defined for English-language learners

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Examples of ecstatic in a Sentence

A few religious denominations—Pentecostalism, for example—still offer a collective ecstatic experience, as did rock culture at its height. But the ecstatic religions tend to be marginal, and rock has been tamed for commercial consumption … —Barbara Ehrenreich, Civilization, June/July 2000
… in dietary terms we are veritable troglodytes (which, speaking personally, is all right by me). I think this explains a lot, not least my expanding sense of dismay as the waiter bombarded us with ecstatic descriptions of roulades, ratatouilles, empanadas, langostinos … and goodness knows what else. —Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999
He was ecstatic when he heard that he was going to be a father.
a football player who was ecstatic upon receiving a full athletic scholarship to the college of his choice

Recent Examples of ecstatic from the Web

Oregon State was ecstatic about their new houseguests for the weekend.

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "LSU feels it has nothing to lose in its NCAA regional journey up the Oregon Trail," 31 May 2018
Montgomery County leaders were ecstatic about the new map, which for the first time in decades gave the county its own district.

— andrew seidman, Philly.com, "Year of the Woman? Maybe not in Philly-area congressional races," 1 May 2018
While deficit-hawks look on in disgust and tax experts grumble about fine print which is an utter mess, bosses are ecstatic.

— The Economist, "Business in the Republicans’ America is flourishing, but also changing," 24 May 2018
Trump was ecstatic over the news tweeting early in the day Korean War to end.

— Fox News, "Trump on the verge of a historic diplomatic triumph?," 28 Apr. 2018
As the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Israeli government was ecstatic.

— mark kersten, Washington Post, "Can the International Criminal Court investigate the violence in Gaza?," 17 May 2018
Fans were ecstatic when the announcement was finally made on ESPN’s draft lottery show.

— alysha tsuji, For The Win, "See Phoenix Suns fans go nuts after team gets No. 1 draft pick," 15 May 2018
Locals, however, who were expected to start using the bridge on Wednesday, were ecstatic.

— New York Times, "Putin Opens Bridge to Crimea, Cementing Russia’s Hold on Neighbor," 15 May 2018
Privately, however, executives had to be ecstatic and were undoubtedly enriched.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Churchill Downs poised to pounce on sports betting as a path clears," 14 May 2018

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

Did You Know?

Ecstatic has been used in our language since at least 1590, and the noun "ecstasy" is even older, dating from the 1300s. Both derive from the Greek verb existanai ("to put out of place"), which was used in a Greek phrase meaning "to drive someone out of his or her mind." That seems an appropriate history for words that can describe someone who is nearly out of his or her mind with intense emotion. In early use, "ecstatic" was sometimes linked to mystic trances, out-of-body experiences, and temporary madness. Today, however, it most typically implies a state of enthusiastic excitement or intense happiness.