Exaltation: The happiness which elevates the mood is exaltation. It is a moderately used grade I word. Exaltation comes from the Latin word exaltare which means to raise high.

   The national anthem gives me the same feeling of exaltation even today, the kind of which I had on the first day of my school.
   Music is a friend of labor for it lightens his task by exalting his spirit. 
   Neither can you uplift yourself to God nor will God lower Himself to receive you.
The prayer accompanied by the exalting music will do the trick at once.

Ravishment: Ravishment is the happiness felt after being charmed by a beautiful thing. It is a rarely used word. It comes from  the Middle French raviss  which means to seize.

   I have always wrestled with the ravishment from seductive looks and glamorous faces until I learned the fact that beauty is always submitted to the taste of time. The real secret of ravishment one receives from a passionate object is not its beauty but the fragrance it accompanies.

Animation: One is said to be animated, when he is sprightly, vibrant and so much full of life. Joy and activity combined is called animation. Humans can also be animated, not just cartoons! It is a commonly used word. Animation could be traced back to Latin animat which means to instill life.

   The country life in my childhood was so animated. While my grandfather had a spirited, animated personality; my grandmother was gentle and poised. 
   A caged animal or bird is so much full of activity but it can’t be called animated until it is released into its real natural habitat.

Elation: Expansion of heart and highness of spirits is elation. It is similar to the expansion and lightening of the balloon when the air is inflated in it. Elation is a moderately used grade I word. It comes from Latin elat  which means to raise.

   Being a mother is the greatest source of elation and pride for every woman. It teaches so much – the unconditional love, unselfishness and an unceasing sense of duty. It helps you discover your reserves of unused sources of energy. If motherhood is elation, fatherhood is responsibility.

Joie de vivre: This French phrase means the excitement of life. Why do we wait for the weekends? Because life suddenly becomes full of joie de vivre in those moments! It is a rarely used phrase.

   A feel of Brazilian joie de vivre is amazing. Have you visited Salvador or Rio de Janerio carnival?  It offers a powerful surge of joie de vivre to everyone who visits those places. It may be doubted if ever the joie de vivre that was so prevalent in Europe in those spacious days is also palpable today or not.

Festivity: Joy associated with celebration is called festivity. Close to these two words – infested and feast – festivity is often used to describe a party, festival or any such joyous gathering. It is a moderately used grade I word which comes from Latin festivus, meaning feast.

    Kids love me singing ‘eieio eieio’ at birthday parties. The live interaction with them is so gripping and so spiritual. The silly fun and festivity we have, raises the roof as I involve everyone in the dance and the singing. Even then, there is nothing in this world that I love more than my family. Christmas is the biggest festivity for us.

Glee: Things have gone in your favor and you feel as if you are on the top of the world. People say you are in glee. Glee makes you look towards the external world, bliss always turns you inside your heart. Glee finds its origin from the German word glēo, which means fun. Glee is a commonly used word.

   When you are young, you have power, in perfect health, the world at your command and asking for your autograph; you are in glee. This is where most youths get sidelined and distracted. Glee and glamour are like a high flying balloon; those could go astray unless tied down by the rope of humility.

Mirth: Much merriment and a lot of laughter express mirth. Here, the limits of reason are respected although driven by the spirit of pure rejoicing. This word comes from the German word myrgth which means making merry. Mirth is a commonly used word in ancient and modern literature.

   I would prefer spending hours in the water on a beach mirthfully with my friends than let my arteries harden lying in bed. 
   The rain has spoiled the mirth of my picnic many times, still I rejoice, at least it helps farmers grow crops for us.

Felicity: Other than bliss, perhaps, this is the word which describes happiness in its purest form. Felicity means pure joy, pure happiness, unalloyed by any element of ego. It is a very commonly used word which finds its origin in the Latin word felix  which means happy.

   His soul is alive to whom the sight of blue skies fills with felicity. Mother Nature has the power to turn weeping into ecstasy, misery into felicity; even a little windflower which has opened its eye to you can beget this trick if you have time to look at it.

Hilarity: Happiness expressed disregarding moral or social norms is hilarity. It implies the kind of jostling where the boisterous energy is spilling over. Hilarity is a moderately used grade I word. It comes from the French word  hilarité meaning merriment.


  Professor Wilson had a naughty and most ridiculous sense of humor which tuned the solemn atmosphere of our class to hilarity in no time. Normal people with abnormal problems are often hilarious!