exhilarate

verb

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ex·hil·a·rate | \ ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrāt

exhilarated; exhilarating

Definition of exhilarate

transitive verb

: to make (someone) very happy and excited or elated was exhilarated by her success It's a demanding dining experience that may exhaust and exasperate some customers, but exhilarate those who desire a challenge more than comfort.— Thomas Matthews Uncle George tells stories … and exhilarates everybody with his good humour and hospitality.— Charles Dickens When antislavery senator Charles Sumner was honored in a demonstration that exhilarated antebellum Boston, Louisa was there …— Madeleine B. Stern

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Did you know?

Many people find "exhilarate" a difficult word to spell. It's easy to forget that silent "h" in there, and is it an "er" or "ar" after the "l"? It may be easier to remember the spelling if you know that "exhilarate" is ultimately derived from the Latin adjective hilarus, meaning "cheerful." (This also explains why the earliest meaning of "exhilarate" is "to make cheerful.") "Exhilarate" comes from "exhilaratus," the past participle of "exhilarare," which is formed by combining ex- and hilarare, a verb that derives from "hilarus" and means "to cheer or gladden." If "hilarus" looks familiar, that may be because it's also the source of "hilarious" and "hilarity" (as well as "hilariously" and "hilariousness," of course).

Examples of exhilarate in a Sentence

the exhilarating feeling of flying that hang gliding offers the climactic moment of commencement ceremonies usually exhilarates graduates and proud parents alike

Recent Examples on the Web Such applications of ambiguous irony allow President Trump to embarrass conventional media in ways that exhilarate his supporters. — Dan Brooks, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2020 That said, don’t expect to exhilarate in the Ghost’s ability to carve canyon roads. — Hannah Elliott, Bloomberg.com, 30 Sep. 2020 Like so many elements of this wise, empathetic, exhilarating show, the title, in its specificity, radiates a vitality that’s universal. — Judy Berman, Time, 22 Apr. 2020 If anything she was exhilarated at the way her staff at the Providence Portland emergency room performed under considerable pressure. — oregonlive, 25 Apr. 2020 The terrain is exhilarating, with punchy climbs; long, leisurely downhills; and minimal traffic. — National Geographic, 22 Jan. 2020 In these exhilarating, vertiginous landscapes, technology triumphs, and the individual human being has vanished. — Steven Litt, cleveland, 5 Jan. 2020 The production values, at their best, are exhilarating. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 6 Apr. 2020 And the result is just as infectiously exhilarating. — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2020

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