exhilarate
/ɪɡˈzɪləɹeɪt/
"exhilarate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“exhilarate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate.
Corpus desk
Index EN-exhilarate · exhilarate · English
exhilarate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "E" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | exhilarate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪɡˈzɪləɹeɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “exhilarate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
exhilarate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪɡˈzɪləɹeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for exhilarate, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin exhilarō (“to delight, to gladden, to make merry”), from ex- (“out, away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + hilarō (“to cheer, to gladden”), from hilaris (“cheerful, light-hearted, lively”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerf… The correct English form is exhilarate, spelled E-X-H-I-L-A-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy, to elate.
- 2To excite, to thrill.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how exhilarate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Good news exhilarates the mind; wine exhilarates the drinker.
For the Philiſtian preſcribeth Cures of the minde in Phrenſies, and melancholy Paſsions; and pretendeth alſo to exhibite Medicines to exhilarate the minde, to confirme the courage, to clarifie the wits, to corroborate the memorie, and the like; but the ſcruples and ſuperſtitions of Diet, and other Regiment of the body in the ſect of the Pythagoreans, in t…
Etymology
From Latin exhilarō (“to delight, to gladden, to make merry”), from ex- (“out, away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + hilarō (“to cheer, to gladden”), from hilaris (“cheerful, light-hearted, lively”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful, merry”), from ἵλαος (hílaos, “gracious, kind, propitious”), from Proto-Indo-European *selh₂- (“comfort, mercy”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.