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

Indiana scored the game’s first 24 points before pouring it on with fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns from Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, wrapping up a jubilant afternoon in the 112th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All. —Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026

Deommodore Lenoir was reveling in the 49ers’ win over the Chicago Bears in a jubilant postgame locker room but couldn’t resist looking ahead to the last game of the regular season. —Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025

Los Angeles — Democrats were feeling jubilant at this year's Democratic National Committee winter meetings after decisive victories in the off-year elections. —Fin Daniel Gómez, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025

But the jubilant mood was soon to change, when two armed men opened fire on the crowds, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more in what would become Australia’s worst mass shooting for almost 30 years. —Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 15 Dec. 2025

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