exhilar

Exhilar is a verb that historically meant to make someone lively, cheerful, or excited. In contemporary English, it is rarely used and is generally treated as archaic or literary. Modern writers typically prefer exhilarate for the active sense of causing strong happiness or excitement, while exhilaration and exhilarating are used for the related noun and adjective forms.

Etymology: Exhilar derives from Latin exhilarare, formed from ex- “out, up” and hilaris “cheerful,” itself from Greek hilaros. The sense developed through Old and Early Modern English before becoming uncommon in everyday usage. The modern, common verb is exhilarate, and the base root appears in related compounds such as exhilarating and exhilaration.

Usage: Because of its rarity, exhilar is most often encountered in older texts, poetry, or stylistically marked writing. For clear and natural expression today, use exhilarate (to cause to feel happy or excited), exhilarated (describing someone who feels that state), or exhilaration (the state itself). Adjectival forms include exhilarating, and the abstract noun is exhilaration.

See also: Exhilarate; Exhilaration; Exhilarating.

Notes: Exhilar remains a niche term in modern usage, with the semantic core of “to cheer or excite” preserved in the more common exhilarate. When selecting between them, composers of contemporary prose generally favor the latter for active construction and the former only when quoting or echoing older, literary styles.