Rapturous
adjective /ˈraptʃərəs/ — So full of joy or delight it takes you somewhere else entirely.
Definition
Feeling or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm; characterized by overwhelming delight that carries you beyond normal emotional register.
Beyond the definition
Rapturous describes the extreme end of positive feeling — the ovation that doesn't stop, the moment of beauty that produces involuntary tears, the response to love that borders on the transcendent. The word carries the root of rapture — being seized and carried away.
Origin & history
From Latin raptus — 'seized', from rapere 'to seize'. Rapture originally meant being physically carried away — by a divine force, by ecstasy. Rapturous describes the feeling of being seized by delight so complete you seem lifted out of the ordinary.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The crowd's rapturous response lasted long after the curtain fell.
She listened to the piece with the rapturous attention of someone hearing it for the first time.
There's a rapturous quality to early love that no relationship can maintain indefinitely.
How to use it
This entry uses an adjective. Follow the examples for the nouns it describes and its position in the sentence.
Choose “Rapturous” when the meaning fits your context: Feeling or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm; characterized by overwhelming delight that carries you beyond normal emotional register.
Synonyms
ecstatic, rhapsodic, blissful, enraptured, euphoric
Antonyms
indifferent, unmoved, detached, lukewarm
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
Music Beyond Ordinary Feeling
A conductor gestures expansively in the middle of an orchestra, their entire body focused on a peak moment of sound.
The intensity of the conductor’s gesture reflects an overwhelming delight. It illustrates a state where the beauty of the performance carries the spirit beyond a normal emotional register, resulting in total immersion and ecstatic feeling.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Rapturous" mean?
Rapturous is adjective meaning: So full of joy or delight it takes you somewhere else entirely.. Feeling or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm; characterized by overwhelming delight that carries you beyond normal emotional register.
Where does the word "Rapturous" come from?
From Latin raptus — 'seized', from rapere 'to seize'. Rapture originally meant being physically carried away — by a divine force, by ecstasy. Rapturous describes the feeling of being seized by delight so complete you seem lifted out of the ordinary.