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Ecstatic has been used in our language since the late 16th century, and the noun ecstasy is even older, dating from the 1300s. Both derive from the Greek verb existanai ("to put out of place"), which was used in a Greek phrase meaning "to drive someone out of his or her mind." That seems an appropriate history for words that can describe someone who is nearly out of their mind with intense emotion. In early use, ecstatic was sometimes linked to mystic trances, out-of-body experiences, and temporary madness. Today, however, it typically implies a state of enthusiastic excitement or intense happiness.
Synonyms
Examples of ecstatic in a Sentence
Barbara Ehrenreich, Civilization, June/July 2000
… in dietary terms we are veritable troglodytes (which, speaking personally, is all right by me). I think this explains a lot, not least my expanding sense of dismay as the waiter bombarded us with ecstatic descriptions of roulades, ratatouilles, empanadas, langostinos … and goodness knows what else.
—Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999
He was ecstatic when he heard that he was going to be a father.
a football player who was ecstatic upon receiving a full athletic scholarship to the college of his choice
Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
Just two days after the video of his costume went viral, Erin showed off her son's ecstatic reaction to receiving the tickets in yet another TikTok.
—Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 3 Nov. 2024
Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 12 Oct. 2022
Derrick Levasseur is pretty much ecstatic about his experience on season 16 of Big Brother.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 21 June 2022
See all Example Sentences for ecstatic 
Dictionary Entries Near ecstatic
Cite this Entry
“Ecstatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecstatic. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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