noun
ecstasy
EHKS-tuh-see
noun
1
A feeling of intense joy or pleasure, often so strong it overwhelms rational thought.
"She screamed in ecstasy when she saw her name on the winners' list."
"The crowd was in ecstasy as the final goal went in."
2
The recreational drug MDMA, especially in tablet form.
"Police found several tablets of ecstasy at the scene."
How to Use Ecstasy
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishOverwhelming joy or delight — or, as a separate meaning, the street name for the drug MDMA.
Common mistake
Context matters: "ecstasy" meaning intense joy is a normal, everyday word; only capitalise or treat as a drug reference when that meaning is clearly intended.
Common pairings
pure ecstasy
in ecstasy
a state of ecstasy
Word Forms
ecstasied past tense, ecstasies plural, ecstasies singular
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She screamed in _____ when she saw her name on the winners' list.
Etymology
From Greek ékstasis, "displacement" or "trance," from existēmi — ek- ("out") plus histēmi ("to stand") — the sense of being so overcome with feeling that you're "standing outside" yourself.