Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Intense joy or delight.
- noun A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.
- noun The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.
- noun Slang MDMA.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To fill with rapture or enthusiasm.
- noun A state in which the mind is exalted or liberated as it were from the body; a state in which the functions of the senses are suspended by the contemplation of some extraordinary or supernatural object, or by absorption in some overpowering idea, most frequently of a religious nature; entrancing rapture or transport.
- noun Overpowering emotion or exaltation, in which the mind is absorbed and the actions are controlled by the exciting subject; a sudden access of intense feeling.
- noun Grievous, fearful, or painful emotion; extreme agitation; distraction: as, the very ecstasy of grief; an ecstasy of fear.
- noun In medicine, a morbid state of the nervous system, allied to catalepsy and trance, in which the patient assumes the attitude and expression of rapture. Also
ecstasis . - noun Insanity; madness.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To fill ecstasy, or with rapture or enthusiasm.
- noun The state of being beside one's self or rapt out of one's self; a state in which the mind is elevated above the reach of ordinary impressions, as when under the influence of overpowering emotion; an extraordinary elevation of the spirit, as when the soul, unconscious of sensible objects, is supposed to contemplate heavenly mysteries.
- noun Excessive and overmastering joy or enthusiasm; rapture; enthusiastic delight.
- noun obsolete Violent distraction of mind; violent emotion; excessive grief of anxiety; insanity; madness.
- noun (Med.) A state which consists in total suspension of sensibility, of voluntary motion, and largely of mental power. The body is erect and inflexible; the pulsation and breathing are not affected.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Intense pleasure . - noun A
state ofemotion sointense that a person iscarried beyondrational thought andself-control . - noun A
trance ,frenzy , orrapture associated withmystic orprophetic exaltation . - noun slang The drug
MDMA , a syntheticentactogen of thephenethylamine family.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion
- noun a state of elated bliss
- noun street names for methylenedioxymethamphetamine
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Marijuana treats us to an awareness of a simultaneity of sensations, a sort of meta-pleasure, which is not surprising, given the roots of the term 'ecstasy,' as Rich Doyle writes: "Ecstasy" comes etymologically from the experience of "being beside ourselves."
Jason Silva: On Creativity, Marijuana and "a Butterfly Effect in Thought" Jason Silva 2011
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The astonishing breadth of Herzog's filmmaking conveys the humanist's sense of wonder at the world - what he describes as the "ecstasy of observation."
Govindini Murty: A Conversation With Werner Herzog, Part I: Into the Abyss Govindini Murty 2011
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Medical writers of the era even discussed a fourth clinical condition, marked by immobility, which they termed ecstasy, but this was not a state that might lead to premature burial.
The Serpent and the Rainbow Wade Davis 1985
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That is what they call ecstasy, but there is no word that can tell out very plain what it means.
The Unicorn from the Stars and Other Plays Lady Gregory 1897
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The toxin - Paramethoxymethamphetamine, or PMMA - is type of methamphetamine not usually associated with the drug sold under the name ecstasy.
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(whilst the outward senses are stopped, so that they receive not outward objects with their usual quickness) in the mind, not suggested by any external objects, or known occasion; nor under any choice or conduct of the understanding at all: and whether that which we call ecstasy be not dreaming with the eyes open, I leave to be examined.
God, Aids & Circumcision Hill, George 2005
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One shut his eyes in ecstasy and rolled onto his back as Richardson scratched his chin.
'White Lion' Film Highlights Trophy Hunting In South Africa (PHOTOS) AP/Huffington Post 2010
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One shut his eyes in ecstasy and rolled onto his back as Richardson scratched his chin.
'White Lion' Film Highlights Trophy Hunting In South Africa (PHOTOS) AP/Huffington Post 2010
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And Lamai, in ecstasy over this establishment of common speech, urged the calabash back under
CHAPTER XIII 2010
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One shut his eyes in ecstasy and rolled onto his back as Richardson scratched his chin.
'White Lion' Film Highlights Trophy Hunting In South Africa (PHOTOS) The Huffington Post News Team 2010
inkhorn commented on the word ecstasy
What I feel when listening to Bach's BWV 1043 Allegro. Pure radiant bliss.
December 16, 2006
bilby commented on the word ecstasy
You need not do anything.
Remain sitting at your table and listen.
You need not even listen, just wait.
You need not even wait,
just learn to be quiet, still and solitary.
And the world will freely offer itself to you unmasked.
It has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
- Franz Kafka, 'Learn To Be Quiet'.
February 3, 2009
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word ecstasy
You love me with a passionate grace
Which gives me ecstasy
And there within your warm embrace,
My spirit wanders free.
-Junior Kennedy
August 2, 2009
kewpid commented on the word ecstasy
Would you take ecstasy? Anna Wood.
February 17, 2011