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ecstasy

 - 7 dictionary results

ec⋅sta⋅sy

  [ek-stuh-see]
Use ecstasy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -sies.
1. rapturous delight.
2. an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.
3. the frenzy of poetic inspiration.
4. mental transport or rapture from the contemplation of divine things.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME extasie < MF < ML extasis < Gk ékstasis displacement, trance, equiv. to ek- ec- + stásis stasis

Synonyms:
2. delight, bliss, elation. Ecstasy, rapture, transport, exaltation share a sense of being taken or moved out of one's self or one's normal state, and entering a state of intensified or heightened feeling. Ecstasy suggests an intensification of emotion so powerful as to produce a trancelike dissociation from all but the single overpowering feeling: an ecstasy of rage, grief, love. Rapture shares the power of ecstasy but most often refers to an elevated sensation of bliss or delight, either carnal or spiritual: the rapture of first love. Transport, somewhat less extreme than either ecstasy or rapture, implies a strength of feeling that results in expression of some kind: They jumped up and down in a transport of delight. Exaltation refers to a heady sense of personal well-being so powerful that one is lifted above normal emotional levels and above normal people: wild exaltation at having finally broken the record.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ecstasy
ec·sta·sy   (ěk'stə-sē)   
n.   pl. ec·sta·sies

  1. Intense joy or delight.

  2. A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control: an ecstasy of rage.

  3. The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.

  4. Slang MDMA.


[Middle English extasie, from Old French, from Late Latin extasis, terror, from Greek ekstasis, astonishment, distraction, from existanai, to displace, derange : ek-, out of; see ecto- + histanai, to place; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
Ecstasy [ˈɛkstəsi]

  1. n.
    a hallucinogen similar to LSD. (Drugs.) : Chemicals with names like “Ecstasy” are being put on the streets every day.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

ecstasy 
1382, "in a frenzy or stupor, fearful, excited," from O.Fr. extasie, from L.L. extasis, from Gk. ekstasis "trance, distraction," from existanai "displace," also "drive out of one's mind" (existanai phrenon), from ek "out" + histanai "to place, cause to stand," from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Used by 17c. mystical writers for "a state of rapture that stupefied the body while the soul contemplated divine things," which probably helped the meaning shift to "exalted state of good feeling" (1620). Slang use for the drug 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine dates from 1985. Ecstatic "rapturously happy" is from 1664.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ec·sta·sy
Pronunciation: 'ek-st&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -sies
1 : a trance statein which intense absorption (as in religious ideation) is accompanied by loss of sense perception and voluntary control
2 often cap : a synthetic amphetamine analogC11H15NO2 used illicitly for its mood-enhancing and hallucinogenic properties called also MDMA, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, XTC —ec·stat·ic /ek-'stat-ik/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

ecstasy ec·sta·sy (ěk'stə-sē)
n.
MDMA.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

ecstasy

in mysticism, the experience of an inner vision of God or of one's relation to or union with the divine. Various methods have been used to achieve ecstasy, which is a primary goal in most forms of religious mysticism. The most typical consists of four stages: (1) purgation (of bodily desire); (2) purification (of the will); (3) illumination (of the mind); and (4) unification (of one's being or will with the divine). Other methods are: dancing (as used by the Mawlawiyah, or whirling dervishes, a Muslim Sufi sect); the use of sedatives and stimulants (as utilized in some Hellenistic mystery religions); and the use of certain drugs, such as peyote, mescaline, hashish, LSD, and similar products (in certain Islamic sects and modern experimental religious groups). Most mystics, both in the East and in the West, frown on the use of drugs because no permanent change in the personality (in the mystical sense) has been known to occur.

Learn more about ecstasy with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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