exhilarating

adjective

ex·​hil·​a·​rat·​ing ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrā-tiŋ 

: causing strong feelings of happy excitement and elation : thrilling

an exhilarating experience

… an exhilarating ride that allows participants to catch an aerial view like they've never seen before.

—Kathryn M. Roy

… I would like to convey the sense of flight as it was almost at the very beginning of itself, when everything about it was miraculous and dangerous and exhilarating.

—James Dickey

… an exhilarating career full of deals sealed at three-martini lunches.

—Andrea Cooper

exhilaratingly

ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

an exhilaratingly funny performance

Synonyms of exhilarating

• exciting
• breathtaking
• thrilling
• interesting
• intriguing

Examples of exhilarating in a Sentence

no recording can capture the exhilarating feeling of being at a live rock concert

Recent Examples on the Web

After an exhilarating five and a half weeks, the 2026 World Cup is nearing the championship match. — India Roby, Architectural Digest, 15 July 2026

In an exhilarating tournament in which nearly all the big stars have performed, including France’s Kylian Mbappé, who leads the Golden Boot standings with eight goals, Yamal has been unspectacular so far, registering one goal and no assists. — David Hickey, NBC news, 14 July 2026

The tiny island nation kept advancing, drawing Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to reach the Round of 32 before finally bowing out to defending champion Argentina in an exhilarating match that may have been the best of the tournament so far. — Daniel Ross Goodman, The Washington Examiner, 11 July 2026

After the exhilarating experience, travelers can sit down with locals and come together over Dominican staples such as pollo guisado, tostones, and mangú. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exhilarating

• accelerating
• accentuating
• accommodating
• accumulating
• adjudicating
• administrating
• affiliating
• agglutinating
• alienating
• alleviating
• amalgamating
• ameliorating