ebullient
Americanadjective
-
overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited.
The award winner was in an ebullient mood at the dinner in her honor.
-
bubbling up like a boiling liquid.
ebullient lava streaming down the mountainside.
adjective
-
overflowing with enthusiasm or excitement; exuberant
-
boiling
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ebullient
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin ēbullient- (stem of ēbulliēns “boiling up,” present participle of ēbullīre ), equivalent to ē- + bulli- (derivative of bulla “a bubble”) + -ent-; see origin at e- 1, boil 1 ( def. ), -ent
Explanation
More than chipper, more than happy, more than delighted is ebullient — meaning bubbling over with joy and delight. There are two senses of the word of ebullient. One describes an immediate, and ultimately short-lived, reaction to a particular event — for example if you've just won the lottery, you are ebullient. The other describes someone who is perpetually upbeat and cheerful, for example, as in "an ebullient personality." Watch out for ebullient personalities: they can often be "over the top" as well.
Vocabulary lists containing ebullient
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Words to Capture Your Joy
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The market’s ebullient response may suggest that some traders misunderstood the vaccine as a preventative treatment, they write, and Moderna may still not reach profitability until 2030.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Yet the images of ebullient arrivals to Spain, a portion of them minors and some wearing only swimsuits and flip-flops, have already spread far and wide, threatening a rupture in relations with Rabat.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Later, the ebullient Treat People With Kindness saw a giant conga line snaking around the stadium.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Nowhere is sentiment more ebullient than in the options market, where volumes have surged, driven in large part by the bullish short-term bets of retail investors.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
She listened to the war reports on Radio Biafra more carefully, as if there might be clues about Ugwu in the ebullient voice reporting the pushback of the vandals, the successes of gallant Biafran soldiers.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
