ecstatic
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.feeling or showing great happiness or excitement.
adj.feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.
Simple“The fans were ecstatic when their team scored the winning goal in the final minute.”
In context“The researchers were ecstatic after the clinical trial results confirmed their hypothesis, potentially paving the way for a new treatment.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'about' or 'at', or by a 'that' clause.
Teacher's tipWhile 'happy' is a general emotion, 'ecstatic' implies a peak experience that is difficult to maintain for long periods.
- 02 C1 Advanced
adj.relating to a state of very strong emotion that makes you lose control of yourself.
adj.relating to, or characterized by, a state of mystical or psychological rapture.
Simple“The poet described an ecstatic vision of nature that changed his life.”
In context“The ceremony reached its climax with an ecstatic dance, where participants appeared to lose all sense of their surroundings.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is more common in literature, philosophy, or religious contexts than in everyday conversation.
Synonymsrapturouseuphoric - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who is in a state of extreme joy or a religious trance.
n.a person experiencing a state of ecstasy, often in a spiritual or mystical context.
Simple“The painting shows a group of ecstatics looking up at the sky.”
In context“The historian studied the lives of medieval ecstatics who claimed to have direct communications with the divine.”
UsageUsually functions as a countable noun.
Teacher's tipThis noun use is rare; learners will almost always encounter the word as an adjective.
Synonyms
“Shouldn’t DJ Thomas, rather, be encouraged to trot towards his lovely end like an ecstatic marathon runner on the home straight?”
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐκστατικός (ekstatikós). By surface analysis, ecstasy + -tic.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.