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

Like his previous movies—most of them directed in collaboration with his brother, Benny—the filmmaker Josh Safdie makes what soon becomes a high-stress journey palatable by setting off with an exhilarating level of momentum. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 Dec. 2025

Yet, witnessing his sublimely stressful journey is an exhilarating pleasure. —Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 25 Dec. 2025

Photos that make an issue's cover are often a mix of majestic settings and exhilarating stunts. —Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025

The coupe, which was developed in collaboration with Yamaha, paired a gorgeous design with exhilarating performance, something that was supposed to be the exclusive domain of marques like Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 19 Dec. 2025

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