Elation
n.joyful, hopefuleveryday
What it means
Great happiness arising from welcome news or achievement.
Reach for it when naming a strong upward rush of joy after a positive outcome
News of the rescue brought elation to the waiting families.
Choose between these
7- playful
over the moon
when conversational British delight is appropriate
not when The idiom is clichéd and unsuitable for solemn or formal reporting.
- everyday
when deep positive feeling should be stated simply
not when Joy can be quiet, enduring, or unconnected to a sudden outcome.
- warm
when pleasure includes appreciative enjoyment
not when Delight is usually gentler and less elevated than elation.
- professional
when intense well-being overwhelms ordinary restraint
not when Euphoria may carry clinical or unrealistic associations and is stronger than most good news.
- formal
when a group celebrates a public victory
not when Jubilation emphasizes outward communal celebration rather than an individual's lifted state.
- literary
exhilaration
when excitement and physical aliveness accompany the happiness
not when Exhilaration can come from speed or danger without any achievement.
- literary
when joy is bound to overcoming opposition
not when Triumph can name the success itself and risks sounding boastful.
Said against
4- dejection
- despair
- gloom
- disappointment
It naturally appears in
3- sense of elation
A sense of elation swept through the lab after confirmation.
- initial elation
Initial elation settled into careful planning for the next phase.
- sheer elation
Sheer elation showed on every face at the reunion.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English noun, noun sense meaning great happiness and excitement opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.