exuberance

From French exubérance, from Latin exuberantia (“superabundance”), from exuberare (“to grow thickly, to abound”); from ex- (“out”) +‎ uber (“udder”), which would have originally referred to a cow or she-goat which was making so much milk that it naturally dripped or sprayed from the udder. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɛksˈjuː.bɜːɹ.əns/, /ˈɛɡ.ʒuː.bɜːɹ.əns/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪɡˈzub(ə)rən(t)s/, /ɛɡˈzub(ə)rən(t)s/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: ex‧u‧ber‧ance

exuberance (countable and uncountable, plural exuberances)

1. (uncountable) The quality of being exuberant; cheerful or vigorous enthusiasm; liveliness.

   Synonyms: ebullience, joy, vim, vitality; see also Thesaurus:enthusiasm, Thesaurus:happiness

   Antonyms: apathy, dullness, listlessness

   • 2012 April 9, Mandeep Sanghera, “Tottenham 1 - 2 Norwich”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Tottenham's desire for a win against a Norwich side playing with energy and exuberance made for an enthralling, end-to-end game.

   • 2025 December 9, Joe Rennison, “Wall Street Is Shaking Off Fears of an A.I. Bubble. For Now.”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     The stock market found itself at a similar moment 29 years ago, when Alan Greenspan famously warned of “irrational exuberance” fueling a bubble in internet stocks. The S&P 500 had risen more than 60 percent in the two years before Mr. Greenspan’s speech.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

2. An instance of exuberant behaviour.
3. An overflowing quantity; superfluousness.

   an exuberance of branches in a plant

4. An abundance of wealth.

• exuberant
• exuberantly