exuberant
ex·u·ber·ant
adj \ig-ˈzü-b(ə-)rənt\Definition of EXUBERANT
1
: extreme or excessive in degree, size, or extent <exuberant prosperity>
2
a : joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic <exuberant praise> <an exuberant personality> b : unrestrained or elaborate especially in style : flamboyant <exuberant architecture>
— ex·u·ber·ant·ly adverb
See Examples of EXUBERANT
- His exuberant personality makes him fun to be around.
- <exuberant crowds rushed to greet the returning national champions in collegiate basketball>
- Steven Spielberg's career has been famously schizoid. On the one hand, he has made films borne aloft by exuberant juvenility (the Indiana Jones pictures, Jurassic Park, and so forth); on the other hand, he has made mature films of serious intent (The Color Purple, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan). And … there is also a third hand: he has combined those two types, most notably in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which he transmuted a fascinating science fiction film into near-theology. —Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic, 23 July 2001
- Here we are at a jousting tournament in medieval England, and as the armored knights charge each other on horseback the exuberant crowd sings along to the old Queen heavy-metal anthem “We Will Rock You.” And does the wave! —David Ansen, Newsweek, 14 May 2001
- A few years ago, I learned to expect that at the end of a linguistics class that I was teaching, as I consulted with a few students before we vacated the room, the air would suddenly be lacerated by fat bass tracks and streams of exuberant invective. Tupac, as they say, was in the house. The class that was about to begin was an elective called “The Poetry of Tupac Shakur.” —John McWhorter, New Republic, 22 Oct. 2001
- They're the hardwood wunderkinds who think NEXT is now: the NBA's teen set. And like puppies, they're winningly exuberant (if not housebroken). Well, maybe not so “winning.” —ESPN, 25 Dec. 2000
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Origin of EXUBERANT
Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin exuberant-, exuberans, present participle of exuberare to be abundant, from ex- + uber fruitful, from uber udder — more at udder
First Known Use: 15th century
Related to EXUBERANT
Synonyms: bouncy, bubbly, buoyant, crank [chiefly dialect], effervescent, frolic, frolicsome, gamesome, gay, high-spirited, vivacious
Antonyms: low-spirited, sullen
Related Words: extroverted (also extraverted), outgoing, uninhibited; carefree, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, joyful, lighthearted, lively, sprightly; boisterous, raucous, rollicking, rowdy; giddy, light-headed, overexuberant, silly; ecstatic, euphoric, lyric, rapturous; audacious, bold, brash, brazen, impertinent, impudent, insolent, saucy
Near Antonyms: constrained, inhibited, repressed, restrained, subdued; impassive, phlegmatic, stoic (or stoical), stolid; depressed, dour, glum, morose, surly
See Synonym Discussion at profuse
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