triumphant
Americanadjective
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having achieved victory or success; victorious; successful.
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exulting over victory; rejoicing over success; exultant.
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Archaic. triumphal.
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Obsolete. splendid; magnificent.
adjective
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experiencing or displaying triumph
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exultant through triumph
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obsolete
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magnificent
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triumphal
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Usage
What does triumphant mean? Triumphant means experiencing, celebrating, or having achieved a triumph—an especially significant or noteworthy victory or success.Triumph is also commonly used as a verb meaning to win, succeed, or be victorious in an epic or spectacular way. Sometimes, it means to conquer. In this case, it’s often used with the word over, and triumphant is used in the same way. An army can be triumphant over enemy forces. In stories, good is triumphant over evil. A person might be said to be triumphant over cancer.Triumphant is especially used in situations in which victory or success has come after great difficulty, adversity, or sacrifice, or over an opponent considered difficult to defeat.Triumphant can describe a person who is or has been victorious, as in They returned to their hometown triumphant, entering to the cheers of the adoring crowd. Sometimes, triumphant describes the state of joy or celebration following a victory or success that is considered a triumph, as in A triumphant feeling filled her as she realized she had won the election. Triumphant can describe something considered a great achievement, as in Her latest novel is triumphant—a masterpiece in every way. The similar adjective triumphal means involving, relating to, or celebrating a triumph.Example: We will not rest until we are triumphant—when we finally victorious over the forces of evil.
Other Word Forms
- triumphantly adverb
- untriumphant adjective
Etymology
Origin of triumphant
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin triumphant-, stem of triumphāns, present participle of triumphāre “to triumph”; triumph, -ant
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.
I throw my words out so they’ll sound strong and triumphant, try to convince myself of confidence I don’t have.
From Literature
Perhaps that soft crackle that he’d so often heard was actually a burst of applause, a triumphant greeting from others in that realm welcoming a new soul.
From Literature
Yet the Balkan nation stand one win away from a place in the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States after emerging triumphant in a seven-goal thriller against Slovakia in Bratislava.
From BBC
Kahlo depicts two sides of herself in the masterpiece—one lying bloody on a gurney after a surgery and the other sitting up, triumphant in a red, traditional dress.
Other pictures show triumphant supporters letting off flares.
From BBC
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.
