jubilant

adjective

ju·​bi·​lant ˈjü-bə-lənt 

: feeling or expressing great joy : exultant

the jubilant winner

jubilantly adverb

Synonyms of jubilant

• triumphant
• ecstatic
• proud
• exultant

Examples of jubilant in a Sentence

the nominee's jubilant acceptance speech before the cheering crowd

Recent Examples on the Web

San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher sat on the visitor’s bench at The Pit on Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque, watching jubilant New Mexico fans file out of the famed arena following an 81-76 Lobos victory that was his team’s third conference loss in the last four games. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026

Scenes of jubilant cheering were reported from other cities as well. —Kay Armin Serjoie, Time, 1 Mar. 2026

The jubilant tune became the year’s best-selling single and was named Record of the Year at the Grammys. —Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026

Voting integrity advocates who believe the 2020 election was rife with fraud have been jubilant since the FBI seized Fulton County’s ballots last month. —David Wickert, AJC.com, 23 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin jūbilant-, jūbilans, present participle of jūbilāre "to let out whoops, invoke with shouts" (Late Latin, "sing hymns of joy, be joyous"), from *jū, jō, exclamation expressing strong emotion + -bilāre, as in sībilāre "to hiss"; *jū going back to Indo-European *i̯ū, whence also Middle High German jū, jūch, exclamation of joy, jūchezen "to rejoice," Old Icelandic ýla "to howl," Greek iȳ́, exclamation of amazement, iȳ́zein "to shout, yell"

Note: The meaning of the Late Latin verb has been influenced by jūbilaeus jubilee entry 1, which itself has been influenced formally by jūbilāre.

First Known Use

1667, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

jubilant

adjective

ju·​bi·​lant ˈjü-bə-lənt 

: feeling or expressing great joy : exultant

jubilant teammates celebrating their victory

jubilantly adverb