Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

exhilarate

2 min
•Mar 2, 2026about 2 months ago
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Summary

This Word of the Day episode explores the etymology and usage of 'exhilarate,' a verb meaning to cause someone to feel very happy and excited. The episode traces the word's Latin origins from 'hilarius' (cheerful) and explains common spelling challenges, while providing a real-world usage example from the Chicago Tribune about jazz in winter.

Insights
  • Etymology knowledge aids spelling retention—understanding Latin roots like 'hilarius' helps remember the silent H and correct letter combinations
  • The word 'exhilarate' is typically used in passive voice construction ('to be exhilarated') rather than active voice in modern English
  • Related word families (hilarious, hilarity, hilariously) share a common Latin root, creating semantic and etymological connections useful for vocabulary building
  • Contextual usage in literary or journalistic writing demonstrates how exhilarate conveys emotional intensity beyond simple happiness
Trends
Growing interest in word etymology as a learning tool for spelling and vocabulary retentionIncreased focus on passive voice constructions in contemporary English usage patternsCross-linguistic word family analysis gaining prominence in language education
Topics
Word etymology and Latin originsEnglish spelling challenges and mnemonicsPassive voice usage in EnglishWord families and semantic relationshipsJournalistic language and emotional expression
Companies
Chicago Tribune
Source publication for the example sentence demonstrating 'exhilarate' in context about jazz music.
Merriam-Webster
Publisher and host of the Word of the Day podcast series providing linguistic analysis and definitions.
People
Peter Sokolowski
Host of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day podcast who presents the episode and provides etymological analysis.
Quotes
"Winter is my favorite season for jazz in Chicago. Summer may be busier and splashier, but there's nothing quite like nestling into a darkened club, cheeks flushed from the cold, for a singular and inventive night of music."
Chicago Tribune•Mid-episode
"It does more than thaw frozen fingers. It exhilarates, inspires, and inflames in the best way."
Chicago Tribune•Mid-episode
"Exhilarate ultimately comes from the Latin adjective hilarius, meaning cheerful."
Peter Sokolowski•Etymology section
Full Transcript
It's the Word of the Day podcast for March 2nd. Today's word is exhilarate, spelled E-X-H-I-L-A-R-A-T-E. Exhilarate is a verb. It means to cause someone to feel very happy and excited. It's usually used in the passive voice, as in, to be exhilarated. Here's the word used. in a sentence from the Chicago Tribune. I'll say it. Winter is my favorite season for jazz in Chicago. Summer may be busier and splashier, but there's nothing quite like nestling into a darkened club, cheeks flushed from the cold, for a singular and inventive night of music. It does more than thaw frozen fingers. It exhilarates, inspires, and inflames in the best way. Many people find the word exhilarate a difficult one to spell. It's easy to forget that silent H in there. And is it an ER or AR after the L? It may be easier to remember the spelling if you know that exhilarate ultimately comes from the Latin adjective hilarius, meaning cheerful. This also explains why the earliest meaning of exhilarate is to make cheerful. Exhilarate comes from ex hiliratus, a form of ex hilirare, which combines ex with hilirare, a verb from hilarus that means to cheer or gladden. If hilarus looks familiar, that may be because it's also the source of the word hilarious and the word hilarity, as well as hilariously and hilariousness, of course. With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski. Visit merriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.