Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The state of being stimulated, refreshed, or elated.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of exhilarating, or of enlivening or cheering; the act of making glad or cheerful.
  • noun The state of being enlivened or cheerful; elevation of spirits; joyous enlivenment.
  • noun Synonyms Animation, joyousness, gaiety, hilarity, glee.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of enlivening the spirits; the act of making glad or cheerful; a gladdening.
  • noun The state of being enlivened or cheerful.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act of enlivening the spirits; the act of making glad or cheerful; a gladdening.
  • noun The state of being enlivened, cheerful or exhilarated.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the feeling of lively and cheerful joy

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Infinite was moved within Himself, and shone and coruscated in that circle, from the centre outward and again to the centre: and that commotion we term exhilaration; and from that exhilaration, variously divided within Himself, was generated the potency of determining the fashioning of the letters.

    Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Albert Pike 1850

  • Pure exhilaration is in woefully short supply at the movies.

    'Inglourious Basterds' wages a thrilling, powerful war 2009

  • You have to admire the joy of one of the four men soaring through the familiar "little swans" variation from "Swan Lake," his smile beaming to the balconies, wide-mouthed in exhilaration and -- in contrast to his colleagues, who were shooting him well-timed disapproving looks -- luxuriating like a little boy in the sheer thrill of flying through space.

    Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: Divas infuse humor, character in dances Sarah Kaufman 2010

  • But, for all that, there was a certain exhilaration about her.

    The Story Girl Lucy Maud 1911

  • As with other great conductors this young maestro senses, seizes on and communicates every scintilla of its pastoral joy, lugubrious shtetl memory, piquant nostalgia and sky-touching exhilaration, which is not to say that he slights delicacy or subtlety.

    Donna Perlmutter: Dudamel Begins New Era at L.A. Philharmonic 2009

  • On the second, Larry Hughes lofted the ball high for James, who soared, jammed it in, then came down screaming for several seconds in exhilaration.

    USATODAY.com - Basketball - Utah vs. Cleveland 2006

  • In a recent article, he recalled the exhilaration of shooting someone as a teenager, and being intoxicated by the rush of living out the I fe he'd seen on screen in "The Godfather."

    Criminal Records 2008

  • In a recent article, he recalled the exhilaration of shooting someone as a teenager, and being intoxicated by the rush of living out the I fe he'd seen on screen in "The Godfather."

    Criminal Records 2008

  • First exhilaration occurs when a young scientist compares alternative ideas or models with observations and discovers how something works.

    Should NASA climate accountants adhere to GAAP? « Climate Audit 2007

  • The only thing I would confess to is what Winston Churchill, who was an early master of our craft, described as the exhilaration of being shot at without result.

    CNN Transcript Jul 13, 2002 2002

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