Exultation
noun /ˌeɡ.zʌlˈteɪ.ʃən/ — Triumphant, jubilant joy — joy that has won something
Definition
A feeling of triumphant elation — joy not merely experienced but earned, the specific happiness that follows victory, achievement, or the resolution of something long uncertain.
Beyond the definition
Joy with a reason behind it. Exultation is different from happiness — it is happiness that knows what it has overcome. The feeling has altitude to it, a sense of having risen.
Origin & history
From Latin 'exultatio' (a leaping up) — from 'exultare' (to leap up, to exult) — 'ex-' (out) + 'saltare' (to leap, to dance). The body's response to triumph: to jump, to leap, to bound upward.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The exultation in the dressing room after the final — the particular quality of a joy that knew exactly what it had cost.
There is an exultation available in finishing a difficult book that reading a comfortable one never provides.
Her exultation was quiet — an inward lifting, a private sense of having done the thing she had feared she couldn't.
Synonyms
jubilation, triumph, elation, rejoicing, euphoria
Antonyms
despair, despondency, dejection
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Person Triumphing on Hilltop
An adult stands on an open hilltop with arms raised wide toward the sky, face turned upward, surrounded by a vast, expansive landscape.
The subject's raised arms and open posture directly reflect a moment of profound, earned joy following achievement. It serves as an illustration of the high-spirited elation that marks exultation, emphasizing victory and triumph as the catalyst for such an overwhelming, uninhibited emotional peak.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration