exhilarate

verb ex·hil·a·rate \ ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrāt \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Examples: exhilarate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

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

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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

There are loud arguments, fraught encounters, dastardly threats and exhilarating acts of heroism.

— christopher arnott, courant.com, "Frontier Justice In 'Flyin' West' At Westport Playhouse," 5 June 2018
The effect is at first exhilarating, then discombobulating, then exhausting.

— elisabeth egan, New York Times, "Love Warrior," 1 June 2018
The other part of me finds the velocity exhilarating.

— robert hackett, Fortune, "Data Sheet—After Thrashing the News Business, Google Seeks to Make Amends," 21 Mar. 2018
The exhilarating off-road chase was the capstone on months of grueling manual-labor groundwork.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "How Noisy Males Control the Gnu’s Cycle," 11 July 2018
By region, here are the best destinations for families and children: BAY AREA Angel Island State Park, San Francisco Bay: The boat ride to Ayala Cove, with the wind in your face and landmarks in every direction, is exhilarating.

— tom stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "Outdoor family vacations can bind or break," 24 June 2018
The result is acceleration that’s fine for passing and highway cruising, but not exhilarating.

— mark phelan, Detroit Free Press, "2019 Volvo XC40 SUV has wireless phone charging, carryout bag hook," 23 May 2018
Chances are, that beneath it there is an exhilarating rush of anticipation.

— bess matassa, Teen Vogue, "Weekly Horoscopes July 9-15," 9 July 2015
Naked empowerment fantasies are exhilarating, a little shameful, and obviously implausible.

— noah berlatsky, The Verge, "The best superhero stories admit that superheroes are ridiculous," 11 July 2018

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).