ecstasy

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A state of overwhelming happiness or delight in which you feel carried beyond ordinary experience.

   Grammar: Often uncountable (pure ecstasy) but can be countable when naming particular moments: the ecstasies of love.

   Patterns

   • in ecstasy
   • ecstasy at something
   • ecstasy over something

   The crowd erupted in ecstasy when the final goal went in.

   She lay on the beach in sheer ecstasy.

   There was ecstasy on the child's face as the snow began to fall.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   An illegal drug, MDMA, taken in pill form to produce feelings of energy and closeness to others.

   Grammar: Used without an article for the drug: he took ecstasy. Often shortened in slang.

   Patterns

   • take ecstasy
   • ecstasy tablet

   The police found ecstasy tablets hidden in his car.

   Doctors warned that ecstasy can cause dangerous overheating.

   The festival banned ecstasy and tested for it on site.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountablereligion

   In religion and mysticism, a trance-like state in which a person feels united with the divine.

   Grammar: Used in discussions of religious experience, often without an article.

   Patterns

   • religious ecstasy
   • fall into ecstasy

   The painting shows a saint in ecstasy, eyes turned to heaven.

   Medieval writers described moments of mystical ecstasy.

   The dancers entered a state of ecstasy during the ritual.

Word forms

Common combinations

in ecstasy

The fans screamed in ecstasy as the band came on.

pure ecstasy

Chocolate cake was pure ecstasy after the long diet.

cry out in ecstasy

She cried out in ecstasy when she heard the news.

religious ecstasy

The painter captured religious ecstasy on the figure's face.

ecstasy and agony

Climbing the peak was a mixture of ecstasy and agony.

Synonyms and how they differ

bliss

Bliss is quiet, deep happiness, while ecstasy is more intense and often more excited.

joy

Joy is the common word for happiness at any strength, and ecstasy is its extreme form.

rapture

Rapture suggests being so absorbed in delight that you lose track of everything else, a little more poetic than ecstasy.

elation

Elation is a lifted feeling after a success, while ecstasy can arise without any achievement.

Opposites

Word family

ecstatic adjective

extremely happy

ecstatically adverb

in an extremely happy way

ecstasies noun

plural form meaning intense joys

Commonly confused: ecstasy or extasy?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ecstasy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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