What does exultation mean?
Exultation is a noun denoting intense, often openly expressed joy, particularly the triumphant kind felt at a victory or hard-won achievement. It sits at the more elevated end of the emotional vocabulary: where happiness describes steady contentment and delight a brief pleasure, exultation suggests a surge of elation that tends to spill outward — into shouts, leaps, tears, or embraces. It derives from the Latin verb exsultare, meaning to leap up or spring forth, so the word's very history evokes bodies physically rising with joy. Common contexts include sports victories, military or political triumphs, artistic successes, and moments of personal vindication. The word is formal to literary in tone, appearing frequently in journalism and narrative writing, usually in phrases like 'shouts of exultation' or 'in exultation'. Its close relatives — the verb exult and the adjective exultant — share this sense of unrestrained, victorious rejoicing.
nounA feeling of triumphant, joyful elation, especially one expressed openly at a success or victory.
- A feeling or expression of triumphant joy or elation, typically at a victory, achievement, or moment of great good fortune.
"She leapt from her seat in exultation when the final goal was scored."
"The fans erupted in exultation as their team lifted the championship trophy."
"With quiet exultation, she read the acceptance letter aloud to her family."
The plural is grammatically valid but rare; the uncountable singular is strongly preferred in most contexts.
"Their exultations echoed through the streets long after midnight."
Exultation literally means 'leaping out' — from Latin saltare, 'to jump' — so a crowd erupting in joy is, etymologically speaking, jumping out of its skin.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exultation
Exultation comes from the Latin noun exsultatio, formed on the verb exsultare, meaning 'to leap up' or 'to spring forth', from salire, 'to leap'. The word entered English via Old French in the late Middle English period, carrying both the literal sense of leaping and the extended sense of rejoicing triumphantly. Cognates and derivatives include the verb exult and adjective exultant, all sharing the same Latin root that also gives English words such as salute and salient.
Related word forms
How exultation is actually used
Exultation is a formal, literary word; it carries an elevated register compared with everyday terms like joy or happiness. It often connotes public, expressive triumph rather than private contentment, and is frequently used with prepositions such as 'in', 'of', or 'with'.
Easily confused with exultation
Exhalation means the act of breathing out, while exultation means joyful triumph; the words look and sound similar but are unrelated in meaning.