exhilarate

Meaning

Verb

• To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy.
• To excite, to thrill.

Related

Similar words

• enliven, stimulate

Origin

• From Latin exhilarāre ("to delight, to gladden, to make merry"), from ex- (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs ("out")) + hilarāre, present infinitive of hilarō, from hilaris (from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός ("cheerful, merry"), from ἵλαος, from Proto-Indo-European *sōlh₂- ("comfort, mercy")).