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I know that I can say "I jumped for joy yesterday along with her." But I want it to be more concise than that while replacing a single verb, as in:

  • I _____ yesterday along with her.

picture for jumping for joy

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5 Answers 5

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The exact word you are looking for is Exultant. It literally means jumping out of your skin with joy.

Exultant Merriam Webster

Meaning: to be extremely joyful : rejoice

Usage: the team exulted in their victory

obsolete : to leap for joy

Verb: Exult

I exulted yesterday along with her.

Edit:

The word exult is made up of ex + sult. The prefix ex mean out of and suffix sult means jump . So, etymologically, it means jump out of oneself with joy.

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    I think this is quite a good one, actually. Especially on account of the etymology (which without checking, I assume is the same as French sauter = to jump, and English somersault). Aug 27, 2018 at 17:32
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    ...But rightly or wrongly I associate the verb to exult more with gloating (often, being gleeful about an enemy's failure), rather that true rejoicing with no connotations of this being occasioned by the failure of evil to triumph. Aug 27, 2018 at 17:37
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    @ubihatt Except it does not convey to your listener the physical act of jumping. No one will understand you to mean that if you use this word, regardless of etymology. The answer does not answer the question. It would be a better answer if you said “there is no word so far as I know which means ‘jumping for joy’, but you can convey at least the emotional state with this word. It’s different to why you asked for, but it may be useful anyway.’
    – Dan Bron
    Aug 27, 2018 at 17:54
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    The OED does support a "leaping" definition, but lists it as obsolete (last citation is from 1727). So exult isn't going to be associated with the OP's imagery for modern hearers, though it makes an interesting bit of trivia.
    – 1006a
    Aug 27, 2018 at 19:30
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    @ubihatt etymology and meaning are distinct, and the question is tagged with "single-word-request" not "etymology". "Exult" is not a good verb if you wish to communicate in English that a person was jumping for joy, and in the sample sentence OP provided it would not be interpreted the way they wish. Aug 27, 2018 at 19:34
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Possibly "gambol" (pronounced as gamble)

intr.v.
To leap about playfully; frolic.
n.
A playful skipping or frolicking about.
American Heritage Dictionary

verb
[no object usually with adverbial]
Run or jump about playfully. ‘the mare gambolled towards her’
noun
An act of running or jumping about playfully. 'the two of them run off to the woods for a gambol together’
Oxford Living Dictionaries

Some synonyms for gambol are frolic, romp, play, but none of these as far as I know have the meaning of to jump playfully. However "caper" and "prance" are similar to "gambol"

Whether playfully can mean happily, I'm not sure, but "playfully" seems to suggest happiness or joy to me.

I'm also not sure whether "a gambol" can refer to a single jump, or whether it has to mean a continued act of playful jumping.

I did a search for "gambol" to mean a single jump and came up with a few results, though these are by no means strong support.

A gambol (n.) is the energetic leap of a horse. It is also an outburst of energetic and playful activity—not necessarily involving a horse—or a general frolic or romp.
Gambol and Gimbal blog


He thrust at me, but I leapt over his spear thus,” and he gambolled into the air.
Children of the Storm A book published in 2012
(This does not suggest happiness, as it's describing a fight.)


Etymology of "gambol": In Middle French, the noun "gambade" referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse.
Merriam Webster Dictionary

thesaurus.com lists "leap" and "spring" as synonyms.

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    Isn't jumping with joy and jumping playfully means two different things?
    – Ubi.B
    Aug 27, 2018 at 19:53
  • @ubihatt Yes, they are. That's why I had reservations about posting this answer. As the OP posted pictures of people jumping I thought they wanted a word to literally mean "to jump". This word was the closest I could come up with to match that. I'm now doubting the OP actually requires this literal meaning of jumping. If this is the case I'll delete my answer.
    – Zebrafish
    Aug 27, 2018 at 20:04
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rejoice
- to feel or show great happiness about something

Note that jump for joy is in this list of synonyms for rejoice at thesaurus.com.


A bit further off the beaten track, there's also...

ecstasize
- to go into an ecstasy

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    Sorry, had to -1. Neither one of these contains or describes the physical act of jumping.
    – Dan Bron
    Aug 27, 2018 at 17:21
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    Hmm. I'd guess the vast majority of instances of jumping for joy don't actually involve lifting both feet off the ground simultaneously. Regardless of OP's pretty pictures, it's generally a figurative usage. Whatever - I rest my case on the fact that rejoice and jump for joy both appear on the same "synonyms" page, as previously noted. Aug 27, 2018 at 17:23
  • His pictures show literal jumps, and it's clear (at least in my reading), OP is looking for that actual physical action. Not abstract celebration. Literal jumping for joy.
    – Dan Bron
    Aug 27, 2018 at 17:25
  • Perhaps I should have had the courage of my (creative) convictions, and proposed the verbified version of propeller-eared Snoopy in his "ultra-happy place"! Aug 27, 2018 at 17:27
  • +1 I agree that the phrase jumping for joy is almost never meant literally. (While the question shows pictures of people jumping, I don't think it's a good interpretation of the phrase.) Therefore, this is an excellent single-word alternative to the metaphorical expression. Aug 27, 2018 at 18:27
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The verb you are looking for is cavorted, from the root form cavort.

Definition of cavort (from Merriam-Webster):

cavorted; cavorting; cavorts
intransitive verb
1 : to leap or dance about in a lively manner | Otters cavorted in the stream.

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    Please include a source and a link to it (if a web-based source) for your definition. Aug 27, 2018 at 20:38
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    I would be wary of the word cavort in this context; as a native speaker I would understan that as having connotation of the second of Merriam-Webster's definitions: "to spend time in an enjoyable and often wild or improper way". Particularly if you are a man, I cavorted with her yesterday will be readily interpreted as sexual.
    – dbmag9
    Aug 28, 2018 at 9:55
  • Indeed, that is the alternate, but now more commonly accepted, definition. May partially explain why the word has fallen out of use.
    – GlitchC
    Aug 28, 2018 at 19:52
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Sounds like you're ecstatic.

Need more characters to post, hmm. Ecstatic: a state of ecstasy. I think. Sounds right.

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    You might have a decent enough suggestion there. Not my votes, but you're probably getting downvotes because you haven't included anything that isn't just opinion. If you look at the other answers, you'll see that they all contain block quotes of dictionary references. TFD is a good start. It'll use up characters(!) and you'll be able to back up opinion with accepted references (which is good for upvotes). You can edit your answer if you like, too. I find it sad when people downvote and leave no reasons behind.
    – Pam
    Aug 28, 2018 at 11:39

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