Definitions

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

  • adjective Full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy.
  • adjective Unrestrained or lavish, as in decoration; extravagant.
  • adjective Abundant; plentiful: synonym: profuse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Characterized by abundance; copious to excess; overflowing; superabundant; luxuriant: as, exuberant fertility; exuberant imagination.

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

  • adjective Characterized by abundance or superabundance; plenteous; rich; overflowing; copious or excessive in production

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

  • adjective of people Very high-spirited; extremely energetic and enthusiastic.
  • adjective of things that grow Abundant, luxuriant, profuse, superabundant.

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

  • adjective unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
  • adjective produced or growing in extreme abundance
  • adjective joyously unrestrained

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, overabundant, from Old French, from Latin exūberāns, exūberant-, present participle of exūberāre, to exuberate; see exuberate.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin exūberāns, the present active participle of exūberō ("be abundant"). Put together from ex ("out"), and uber ("udder"), and originally would have referred to a cow or she-goat which was making so much milk that it naturally dripped or sprayed from the udder.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word exuberant.

Examples

  • Mr. Barker admired what he called her exuberant vitality, and expressed his opinion that people with a digestion like that were always having a good time.

    Doctor Claudius, A True Story 1881

  • Whether we'll get back to what I call exuberant of the past, I don't know.

    Comerica Incorporated CEO Discusses Q4 2010 Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha 2011

  • Chavez and his cronies live in exuberant luxury, they love their privileges, ferraris and desinger clothing.

    Matthew Yglesias » Hugo Chavez, Inflation Hawk 2010

  • Once Tribble returned the kickoff to the BC 37 for the final play, the Wolfpack sideline spilled onto the field in exuberant celebration.

    USATODAY.com - College Football - Boston College vs. N.C. State 2006

  • Surreal lamppost sculptures, "Composition Exubérante de Réverbères Hybrides," by Niçois artists Pascal Pinaud and Stéphane Magnin, are true to their name -- in English, exuberant hybrid streetlamps -- and light up the university quarter of Saint-Jean d'Angely.

    Tram Transports City of Nice with Art 2007

  • I'll leave you with a funny Emily quote (she has a new obsession with the word exuberant):

    PARENTAL ADVISORY WARNING: excessive bitching grassbrace 2001

  • His poetry appears in exuberant colours and only rarely takes on the character of melodious music; but it is all the more plastic in the creation of forms suited to expressing feelings and ideas.

    Nobel Prize in Literature 1901 - Presentation Speech 1901

  • The crowd followed us to the boat, and shouted and waved in exuberant Papuan style as we sailed away; while the Arabs, incongruous amid their surroundings – gay for the day in long white flowing robes, broidered vests, and bright-coloured turbans – stood on the very edge, watching us as far as they could see us, with evident sadness that their short intercourse with the outer world had already ended.

    Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887

  • "We know we can effect positive change outside government at this point in time on another scale and actually make a difference for our priorities," she said, flanked by her husband, Todd, and members of their family -- whom she described as exuberant supporters of her resignation.

    unknown title 2009

  • Having decorated my room as a teenager with these kind of posters, I’m a sucker for pyschedelia, but what really struck me about the display was the word exuberant’ in the exhibition title.

    EXUBERANCE! The Year in Pictures 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.