Standard Lemma guide

exhilarate

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪɡˈzɪləɹeɪt/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɛɡ-/
  • General-American: /ɪɡˈzɪləˌɹeɪt/
  • General-American: /ɛɡ-/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH0 G Z IH1 L ER0 EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • Good news exhilarates the mind; wine exhilarates the drinker.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blissen, enliven, light up, stimulate, animate, arouse, awaken, beghast, leaven, bright, brighten, cheer, energize, enthuse, exalt, excite, fire up, ginger, ginger up, inflame, invigorate, inspire, inspirit, jazz, kindle, liven, liven up, perk up, quicken, spice, spice up, vitalise, beatify, enrapture, begladden, fetch, cheer up, cherish, content, delight, elate, elevate, enbliss, exhilarate, fain, gay, gladden, gladden someone's heart, gratify, happify, happy, hearten, jollify, laetificate, make someone's day, please, raise someone's spirits, rejoice, turn the frown upside down, upcheer, warm someone's heart, warm the cockles of someone's heart

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To excite, to thrill.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: electrify, work up, animate, awaken, enflame, enkindle, enthrill, exagitate, excite, exhilarate, exsuscitate, fillip, fire, fire the blood, galvanize, gin up, ignite, inflame, intoxicate, kindle, quicken, rouse, send, set fire to, set on fire, sharpen, stir the blood, suscitate, thrill, vitalise, wake, warm the blood, whet, wind up, yerk

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

fill with sublime emotion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The children were thrilled at the prospect of going to the movies
  • He was inebriated by his phenomenal success

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tickle pink, inebriate, thrill, exalt, beatify

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: elate, lift up, uplift, pick up, intoxicate

History

Etymology

From Latin exhilarō (“to delight, to gladden, to make merry”), from ex- (“out, away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h1eǵhs (“out”)) + hilarō (“to cheer, to gladden”), from hilaris (“cheerful, light-hearted, lively”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful, merry”), from ἵλαος (hílaos, “gracious, kind, propitious”), from Proto-Indo-European *selh2- (“comfort, mercy”). By surface analysis, ex- + Latin hilar(ō) + -ate.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: развеселявам (razveseljavam) — to cheer
  • Czech: rozveselit — to cheer
  • Dutch: opvrolijken — to cheer
  • German: beglücken — to cheer
  • German: beschwingen — to cheer
  • Greek: χαροποιώ (charopoió) — to cheer
  • Polish: rozweselić — to cheer
  • Spanish: alegrar — to cheer
  • Bulgarian: ободрявам (obodrjavam) — to excite, to thrill
  • Czech: osvěžit — to excite, to thrill
  • Czech: vzpružit — to excite, to thrill
  • Dutch: opwekken — to excite, to thrill
  • Dutch: stimuleren — to excite, to thrill
  • French: ragaillardir — to excite, to thrill
  • German: erregen — to excite, to thrill
  • German: berauschen — to excite, to thrill
  • Greek: χαροποιώ (charopoió) — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: exhilarar — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: estimular — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: excitar — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: tonificar — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: vivificar — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: entusiasmar — to excite, to thrill
  • Spanish: emocionar — to excite, to thrill