rapture

noun rap·ture \ ˈrap-chər \

Definition of rapture

1 :an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion

2 a :a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion

b :a mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things

3 often capitalized :the final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end-time according to Christian theology

—

rapturous

play \ˈrap-chə-rəs, ˈrap-shrəs\ adjective

—

rapturously

adverb

—

rapturousness

noun

See rapture defined for English-language learners

See rapture defined for kids

Examples of rapture in a Sentence

We listened with rapture as the orchestra played.
He listened to the wind in the trees, his eyes closed in rapture.

Recent Examples of rapture from the Web

Pep Guardiola's side recorded a very late win at the Vitality Stadium, with Raheem Sterling scoring a 97th-minute winner to send the visiting City fans into an absolute rapture.

— SI.com, "Man City's Aguero Facing Police Investigation Following Steward's Claims of Assault," 26 Aug. 2017
Minutes after the break, Hillsborough was sent into raptures.

— SI.com, "Sheff Wed 1-1 Huddersfield AET (3-4 Pens): Terriers Reach Play-Off Final With Shootout Win," 19 July 2017
Blondie and Garbage on the Rage and Rapture Tour at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 at Hard Rock Live, near Hollywood.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "Can ’70s classic rockers recapture their signature sound in their 70s?," 25 June 2017
Visitors tend to offer their own, from Biblical rapture to quantum leap, but the guides don't play favorites, armed instead with levels and boards, there just to show off the mystery.

— jamie hale, OregonLive.com, "Is the Oregon Vortex real? Roadside attraction remains a mystery of perception," 22 June 2017
Possibly swept away in the rapture, his lawyer says.]

— lindsey bever, Washington Post, "Fugitive polygamist Lyle Jeffs was found living in a Ford pickup after a year on the lam, FBI says," 15 June 2017
This is consistent with the dispensationalist interpretation of the Book of Revelations, which holds that the Second Coming of Christ and The Final Judgement will occur seven years after the Rapture.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "The Leftovers’ Hungry Ghosts," 6 June 2017
But, at base, his Chopin today is not that different from his Chopin of yesteryear, which may cause admiration and a certain excitement but not likely rapture.

— alan g. artner, chicagotribune.com, "Review: Maurizio Pollini's Chopin a modernist vision at Orchestra Hall," 29 May 2017
At its best, this big-screen version of the fin de siècle TV series evokes the rapture of the shallows.

— joe morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Baywatch’ Review: Impossible to Rescue," 25 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rapture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of rapture

Latin raptus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1594

See Words from the same year

rapture Synonyms

Synonyms

cloud nine, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, heaven, high, intoxication, paradise, ecstasy, rhapsody, seventh heaven, swoon, transport

Antonyms

depression

Related Words

exaltation; blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, delight, enchantment, felicity, gladness, happiness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, pleasure; reverie, trance; inspiration; fervor, frenzy, madness, passion; cheer, cheerfulness, exuberance, gaiety (also gayety), glee, gleefulness, jubilance, jubilation, lightheartedness

Near Antonyms

misery, sadness, unhappiness, woe, wretchedness; blues, dejection, desolation, despair, despondency, disconsolateness, disheartenment, dispiritedness, doldrums, downheartedness, dreariness, dumps, forlornness, gloom, gloominess, heartsickness, melancholy, mopes

Synonym Discussion of rapture

ecstasy, rapture, transport mean intense exaltation of mind and feelings. ecstasy and rapture both suggest a state of trance or near immobility produced by an overpowering emotion. ecstasy may apply to any strong emotion (such as joy, fear, rage, adoration).

- religious ecstasy

rapture usually implies intense bliss or beatitude.

- in speechless rapture

transport applies to any powerful emotion that lifts one out of oneself and usually provokes vehement expression or frenzied action.

- in a transport of rage

rapture

verb

Definition of rapture

raptured; rapturing

transitive verb

:enrapture

Examples of rapture in a Sentence

nature lovers will be raptured by the documentary's breathtaking cinematography

Recent Examples of rapture from the Web

At this time of year, Linnaeus had reached the farthest and most remote part of his journey, an alpine region, where he was driven to rapture by the diversity of flowering plants.

— james prosek, New York Times, "A Botanist in Swedish Lapland," 16 May 2017