exhilarating

adjective

ex·​hil·​a·​rat·​ing ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrā-tiŋ 

: causing strong feelings of happy excitement and elation : thrilling

an exhilarating experience

… an exhilarating ride that allows participants to catch an aerial view like they've never seen before.

—Kathryn M. Roy

… I would like to convey the sense of flight as it was almost at the very beginning of itself, when everything about it was miraculous and dangerous and exhilarating.

—James Dickey

… an exhilarating career full of deals sealed at three-martini lunches.

—Andrea Cooper

exhilaratingly

ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

an exhilaratingly funny performance

Synonyms

• exciting
• breathtaking
• thrilling
• interesting
• intriguing

Examples of exhilarating in a Sentence

no recording can capture the exhilarating feeling of being at a live rock concert

Recent Examples on the Web

Watching a city stand up is as exhilarating as reading a great sentence. —James Folta, Literary Hub, 11 July 2025

That arrangement builds to an exhilarating climax largely fueled by Lindsey Buckingham’s guitar lead, from the eerie wailing of those high notes to its fiery conclusion. —Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025

The final chapter of the original trilogy (well, tetralogy) might be the most exhilarating, wasting no time before driving straight into action. —Kelly Martinez Published, EW.com, 5 July 2025

Similarly to the Fire sign, the DeLorean blasts off and moves out at an exhilarating speed. —Lisa Stardust, People.com, 3 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exhilarating

• accelerating
• accentuating
• accommodating
• accumulating
• adjudicating
• administrating
• affiliating
• agglutinating
• alienating
• alleviating
• amalgamating
• ameliorating