exhilarate

play

verb ex·hil·a·rate \ ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrāt \

Definition of exhilarate

exhilarated; exhilarating

transitive verb

1 :to make cheerful and excited :enliven, elate

was exhilarated by her success

2 :refresh, stimulate

—

exhilaratingly

play \ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrā-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

—

exhilarative

play \ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrā-tiv\ adjective

See exhilarate defined for English-language learners

See exhilarate defined for kids

exhilarate was our Word of the Day on 12/27/2013. Hear the podcast!

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 of exhilarate from the Web

Changing up your hair and toying with lengths, textures, and shapes is exhilarating and enlivening.

— donna freydkin, Allure, "10 Haircuts Perfect for Slaying Your 40s," 25 Aug. 2017
On any summer weekend, Venice Beach is the ultimate urban beach carnival: exhilarating, loud, funky and diverse.

— robin abcarian, latimes.com, "Where have all the houses gone? Gone to tourists, every one. (How short-term rentals have worsened Venice Beach's rental crisis.)," 9 Aug. 2017
U2's opening set, on a smaller stage closer to the crowd, was exhilarating.

— troy l. smith, cleveland.com, "Cleveland crowd carries Bono, U2 through epic stadium show (Photos)," 2 July 2017
There’s something really exhilarating and really visceral about the rawness of opera.

— ryan gillespie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Singers showcase progress at UCF's Summer Opera Institute," 25 June 2017
Boise Gay Pride Parade in 1990 — the first of its kind in our state — was hope-inspiring and exhilarating.

— elizabeth greene, idahostatesman, "The Boise Pride Parade — how far we’ve come," 23 June 2017
Perez smacked a 412-foot home run to provide the exhilarating winning margin in a 6-4 victory as the Royals continued to rehabilitate their season.

— vahe gregorian, kansascity.com, "Vahe Gregorian: Power of imagination stokes surging Royals," 21 June 2017
Keyboard whiz/composer Emborg teams up with gifted chromatic harmonica master Mathias Heise (echoes of the late virtuoso Toots Thielemans) to create 10 joyous tracks in an exhilarating new jazz hybrid.

— staff, The Christian Science Monitor, "Top Picks: PBS's 'The Story of China,' the Jørgen Emborg Quartet’s album 'What's Left?,' and more," 9 June 2017
Zuro executed the ploy to perfection, strolling off first base just enough to force Lemont's catcher to abandon the plate, allowing Corona to slide safely for an exhilarating 4-3 comeback win.

— bob narang, chicagotribune.com, "Nazareth steals home to walk off with softball sectional title," 4 June 2017

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.

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).