ebullient
Listen now
Description
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2024 is: ebullient \ih-BULL-yunt\ adjective If someone or something is appealingly lively and enthusiastic, they may also be described as ebullient. // Akua's ebullient personality made her the life of the party. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ebullient) Examples: "[Les] McCann, who would later serve as a drummer and horn player in his high-school marching band, soon developed a love for the great symphonies and for distinctive rhythm and blues vocal stylists such as Bullmoose Jackson, Billy Eckstine and Louis Jordan. But it was the ebullient gospel music he heard at his local Baptist church that touched him the deepest. 'That was the foundation, the basis for all of my knowledge,' says McCann, whose [rollicking](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rollicking) piano work still bears a strong gospel tinge." — George Varga, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2024 Did you know? Someone who is ebullient is bubbling over with enthusiasm, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that ebullient comes from the Latin verb ebullire, which means "to bubble out." When ebullient was first used in the late 1500s its meaning hewed closely to its Latin source: ebullient meant "boiling" or "bubbling," and described things like boiling water and boiling oil instead of someone's bubbly personality. Only later did the word's meaning broaden beyond describing the liveliness of a boiling liquid to encompass emotional liveliness and enthusiasm.
More Episodes
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 21, 2024 is: vulnerable \VUL-nuh-ruh-bul\ adjective A person described as vulnerable in a general way is someone who is easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally. Vulnerable can also describe a person, group, or thing that is open to...
Published 06/21/24
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 20, 2024 is: hue and cry \HYOO-und-KRYE\ noun Hue and cry refers to a clamor of alarm or protest in response to something. It can also be used as a synonym of [hubbub](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubbub) to refer to general noise or...
Published 06/20/24