ecstatic

1 of 2

adjective

ec·​stat·​ic ek-ˈsta-tik 

ik-ˈsta-

: of, relating to, or marked by ecstasy

ecstatically

ek-ˈsta-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ik-ˈsta-

adverb

ecstatic

2 of 2

noun

: one that is subject to ecstasies

Did you know?

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

Adjective

• elated
• elevated
• enrapt
• enraptured
• entranced
• euphoric
• exhilarated
• giddy
• heady
• intoxicated
• rapt
• rapturous
• rhapsodic
• rhapsodical

Examples of ecstatic in a Sentence

Adjective

A few religious denominations—Pentecostalism, for example—still offer a collective ecstatic experience, as did rock culture at its height. But the ecstatic religions tend to be marginal, and rock has been tamed for commercial consumption … —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

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The title track starts off sounding like gamelan music, then turns into a busy-grooved evocation on finding catharsis by going for a swim at a busy beach, creating her own ecstatic iteration of traditional baptismal blues imagery. —Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025

Breakthroughs in reasoning are why many AI experts waxed ecstatic over OpenAI’s release of its o3 and o3 mini models last month. —Clint Boulton, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025

Interview ‘Writing From the Whole of Life’: An Interview with Brandon Taylor Colin Barrett The author of The Late Americans on ecstatic first drafts, satirizing the MFA, and characters who stake their lives on art. —Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025

The novel’s huge cast of characters typically remain in their community, but all have distinct trajectories, many of which lead to their own versions of loneliness, tragic or ecstatic. —Ilana Masad, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Medieval Latin ecstaticus, extaticus, borrowed from Greek ekstatikós "inclined to depart from, out of one's senses, causing mental disorder," from eksta-, stem of existánai "to displace, confound," exístasthai "to be astonished, lose consciousness" + -t-, verbal adjective suffix (after statós "standing") + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at ecstasy

Noun

derivative of ecstatic entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1590, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1659, in the meaning defined above