Make Your Point: EXULT

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pronounce EXULT:

egg ZULT

connect this word to others:

As we check out the beautiful, exciting word exult, let's recall some of its family members: words that also trace back to the Latin salire, meaning "to leap."

1. Something d_sult__y skips around in a disorganized, random way, like a circus performer leaping from horse to horse.

2. Something sal___t seems to leap out because it's more important, more interesting, more unusual, or just easier to notice than other things.

3. Literally a "leaping over," a s____sault is a 360-degree flip, forward or backward, or anything that moves or changes suddenly, as if it's turning or leaping over on itself.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "exult" traces back to Latin bits (ex- and salire) that literally mean "to leap up, or to leap out."

In its most literal sense, to exult is to leap upward in joy.

Most of the time, we use a less literal meaning: to exult is to feel or express intense joy, as if you're leaping upwards.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, the intransitive kind: "They exulted in their victory;" "We heard the good news and exulted."

Other forms:

The other verb forms are "exulted" and "exulting."

The adjective is "exultant," and the adverb, "exultantly."

And the most common noun is "exultation." It can be both uncountable ("There was much exultation") and countable ("There were many exultations"). We've also got some alternate nouns, but they're rarer: "exultancy" and "exultance."

how to use it:

Pick the formal, positive, semi-common word "exult" when you want to describe someone's expression of pure happiness, especially in situations of surprise and excitement.

Say that someone exults, or that someone exults in something. You might exult in a pleasant feeling or realization, exult in a victory or an achievement, or exult in a wonderful moment or memory.

Although it's often people who exult in things, you can also say that people's creations exult in things, as in "Fiona Apple's latest album exults in thick, messy harmonies."

And although I don't personally recommend doing this, you can also use "exult" to tag dialogue, as in "'I love it!' she exulted." (I recommend just using the word "said" instead of specific verbs for tagging dialogue; it seems more respectful to the reader: "'I love it!' she said.")

examples:

"And so they spent hours there, watching the birds come and go, feeding them from their palms, exulting in the familiarity that allowed the birds to land on their arms and shoulders."
— Dave Eggers, Zeitoun, 2009

"Even in this broken and diminished world, [the photographer Robert Adams] is saying, it is possible — no, it is imperative — to exult and sing."
— Arthur Lubow, New York Times, 13 July 2022

has this page helped you understand "exult"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "exult" without saying "rejoice" or "jump for joy."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "There's no way to replicate the (charm, happiness, or excitement) of exulting with (a certain group of people in a certain situation)."

Example 1: "There's no way to replicate the excitement of exulting with hundreds of other fans as your favorite band takes the stage."

Example 2: "Teams will miss the passion of hometown crowds this [pandemic] postseason; there is no way to replicate the dizzying charm of exulting with your own fans, in your own city."
— Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 25 September 2020

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "The Tip of the Tongue!"

You know how sometimes you'll be reaching for a perfect word, and it's right there at the tip of your tongue, where you can almost taste it? Somehow that word is caught in the liminal space between your memory and your mouth. This month, let's play with that experience, and practice resolving it to our satisfaction.

I'll give you a short quote from Chris Palmer's heartfelt and eye-opening new book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life, along with a blank where Chris has deployed a truly perfect word. To help bring that word to the tip of your tongue, I'll describe it both physically and semantically.

Try this one today:

"Coombs Lee... concluded that death itself is not the biggest problem people fear. A far bigger fear is the terror of never having lived, of wasted lives and squandered opportunities to make giving, generosity, and gratitude the _____ of one's life."

The word is 2 syllables long, and it's a compound word.

The word means "basis or foundation," but it's more visual, suggesting something geological.

To reveal the right word, scroll to the bottom of the issue.

review this word:

1. The opposite of EXULT is

A. ULT.
B. WALLOW.
C. OPPRESS.

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby: "Tom talked incessantly, exulting and _____."

A. laughing.
B. glowering.
C. biting his nails.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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