different between exuberant vs irrepressible

English

Etymology

From Middle French exubérant, from Latin ex?ber?ns, the present active participle of ex?ber? (“be abundant”). Put together from ex (“out”), and uber (“udder”), and originally would have referred to a cow or she-goat which was making so much milk that it naturally dripped or sprayed from the udder.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???zu?b???nt/

Adjective

exuberant (comparative more exuberant, superlative most exuberant)

1. (of people) Very high-spirited; extremely energetic and enthusiastic.

   Synonyms: buoyant, cheerful, high-spirited

   • 1882, Frank R. Stockton, "The Lady or the Tiger?":

     He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts.

   • 1961, Joseph Heller, Catch-22:

     She was a tall, earthy, exuberant girl with long hair and a pretty face.

2. (literary, of things that grow) Abundant, luxuriant.

   Synonyms: profuse, superabundant

   • 1852, The Ark, and Odd Fellows' Western Magazine

     It pencilled each flower with rich and variegated hues, and threw over its exuberant foliage a vesture of emerald green.

   • 1972, Ken Lemmon, "Restoration Work at Studley Royal," Garden History, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 22:

     The County Architect's Department is starting to pleach trees to open up these vistas, now almost hidden by the exuberant growth.

Derived terms

• exuberantly

Related terms

• exuberance

Translations

Further reading

• “exuberant”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “exuberant”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.

Latin

Verb

ex?berant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of ex?ber?

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin ex?ber?ns.

Pronunciation

Adjective

exuberant m (feminine singular exuberanta, masculine plural exuberants, feminine plural exuberantas)

1. exuberant (of a person: very high-spirited)
2. exuberant (abundant)

Related terms

• exuberància

Romanian

Etymology

From French exubérant, from Latin exuberans.

Adjective

exuberant m or n (feminine singular exuberant?, masculine plural exuberan?i, feminine and neuter plural exuberante)

1. exuberant

Declension

English

Etymology

ir- +? repressible

Adjective

irrepressible (not generally comparable, comparative more irrepressible, superlative most irrepressible)

1. Not containable or controllable.
   • 1858, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. 15:

     [...] here the two friends burst into a variety of giggles, and glanced from time to time, over the tops of their pocket-handkerchiefs, at Nicholas, who from a state of unmixed astonishment, gradually fell into one of irrepressible laughter [...]

2. (of a person) Especially high-spirited, outspoken, or insistent.
   • 1875, Wilkie Collins, The Law and the Lady, ch. 3:

     The irrepressible landlady gave the freest expression to her feelings.

   • 1901, Frank Norris, The Octopus, Book II, Conclusion:

     "The irrepressible Yank is knocking at the doors of their temples and he will want to sell 'em carpet-sweepers for their harems."

   • 1963 July 12, "People," Time:

     It was Paris' irrepressible High Fashion Doyenne Gabrielle ("Coco") Chanel, 80, so-soing this and high-hatting that, while Women's Wear Daily took notes.

   • 2012 July 24, Mel Watkins, "Sherman Hemsley, ‘Jeffersons’ Star, Is Dead at 74," New York Times (retrieved 16 June 2013):

     High-strung and irrepressible, George Jefferson quickly became one of America’s most popular television characters, a high-energy, combative black man who backed down to no one.

Translations