exhilarate
UK[ɪɡˈzɪləreɪt]US[ɪɡˈzɪləreɪt]
v
To make someone feel very happy, animated, or elated.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
hilar
ate
ex
out
hilar
glad
ate
verb suffix
Etymology
The word 'exhilarate' originates from the Latin verb exhilarare, meaning "to make cheerful." This Latin term is itself a compound of the intensive prefix ex- ("thoroughly") and the adjective hilaris ("cheerful, merry"). The root hilaris can be traced further back to the Greek hilaros, sharing the same joyful meaning. Thus, the literal sense of "to make thoroughly glad" evolved seamlessly into the modern abstract meaning of causing great excitement and elation.
Analysis
Structure: ex (out) + hilar (glad) + ate (verb suffix)
- ex: A Latin prefix meaning "out of, thoroughly."
- hilar: A direct substring from the Latin root hilaris meaning "cheerful, merry."
- ate: A verb-forming suffix of Latin origin, indicating to make or cause to be.
Examples
The news of her promotion did nothing but exhilarate her.
There's something about the sea air that never fails to exhilarate him.
The coach's passionate speech before the game was designed to exhilarate the team.