ebullient
Americanadjective
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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
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Words to Capture Your Joy
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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.
Additional throwback-y singles likely to make the cut include hits by three Brits: Dean’s ebullient “Man I Need,” Raye’s boisterous “Where Is My Husband!” and Sienna Spiro’s grandly emotional “Die on This Hill.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
Expanding on that idea, Ashe incorporates the ebullient sound of a New Orleans funeral band in the song's closing moments.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Now ebullient, now maudlin, Herzen can be suddenly, embarrassingly intimate—as when describing the torment of jealousy that gripped him upon learning of his wife’s brief affair with a German romantic poet, Georg Herwegh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Often, a low put-call ratio is a sign that investors are overly ebullient and can thus be seen as a contrarian indicator, presaging a market retreat.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
He was as ebullient and ruddy as mulled claret, and Nately liked him a great deal, although he did not like mulled claret.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
