Exhilarate

/ɪɡˈzɪləɹeɪt/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate.
2. (transitive) To excite, to thrill.

Example Sentences

Good news exhilarates the mind; wine exhilarates the drinker.

For the Philiſtian preſcribeth Cures of the minde in Phrenſies, and melancholy Paſsions; and pretendeth alſo to exhibite Medicines to exhilarate the minde, to confirme the courage, to clarifie the wits, to corroborate the memorie, and the like; but the ſcruples and ſuperſtitions of Diet, and other Regiment of the body in the ſect of the Pythagoreans, in the Hereſy of the Manicheas, and in the Lawe of Mahumes doe exceede; […]

Any and ſundry are the meanes, which Philoſophers and Phyſicians haue preſcribed to exhilarate a ſorrowfull heart, to diuert thoſe fixed and intent cares and meditations, which in this malady ſo much offend; but in my judgement none ſo preſent, none ſo powerfull, none ſo [a]ppoſite as a cup of ſtrong drinke, mirth, muſicke, and merry company.

[Y]ea many gods, / Had voices more than all the winds, with power / To exhilarate the spirit, and to soothe, / Through every clime, the heart of human kind. / While this was uttering, strange as it may seem, / I wondered not, although I plainly saw / The one to be a stone, the other a shell; […]

I slept soundly, and without feeling the least uneasiness, and am a great deal better this morning; neither do I find that the henbane has affected my head, which, from the great effect it had on me,—exhilarating me to the most extraordinary degree, and yet keeping me sleepy,—I feared it would.

It is now for us to say, that with very considerable powers of fancy, and a deep feeling of enthusiasm, he [James G. Small] has described the scenes of his romantic rambles, and recorded the historical or traditional events for which he cherishes such a warm veneration, in song that by turns exhilarates, captivates, and melts; and that will especially arouse Scotland's associations.

Returning to their desks at the beginning of April 1966, exhilarated by the size of the Labour majority, Ministers found that there had been no improvement in the economic outlook while they had been away; indeed it had grown worse.

[A]lcohol, as all the world knows, or should know, does not nourish, but only stimulates,—exhilarates if you will, but exhilarates as fire exhilarates! Would carbon or any other combustible exhilarate only to burn up, consume, and destroy?

Synonyms for exhilarate

Antonyms for exhilarate

Related Words

Word Forms

• exhilarates
• exhilarating
• exhilarated

Usage Notes

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