exhilaration

n.
The state of being stimulated, refreshed, or elated: "Few Yosemite visitors ever see snow avalanches and fewer still know the exhilaration of riding on them" (John Muir).

(ig-zil-uh-RAY-shuhn)

noun
The state of being stimulated, refreshed, or elated.

Etymology
Latin exhilarare, exhilarat- : ex-, intensive prefix + hilarare, to make cheerful (from hilaris, hilarus, cheerful, from Greek hilaros) + -tion.

Usage
"But men in their 70s who still come to work every day for the sheer exhilaration of the job don't turn to hammocks in a crisis." — Mas Teal, Smart Managing: Not a Fool, Not a Saint Malden Mills Owner Aaron Feuerstein Was Both Ridiculed And Canonized When He Kept His 1,000 Employees on the Payroll Aft, Fortune, 11 Nov 1996.

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noun

High spirits: animation, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exaltation, inspiration, lift, uplift. See happy/unhappy.

n

Definition: great happiness, excitement
Antonyms: agitation, depression, discouragement, unhappiness, upset, worry

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Quotes:

"Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you, and just before you realize what's wrong with it." - Rex Harrison