1
as in ecstatic
experiencing or marked by overwhelming usually pleasurable emotion
a rock band that still attracts rapt crowds of aging baby boomers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in immersed
having the mind fixed on something
with a mixture of delight and awe, the rapt children stared at the chick in the incubator breaking out of its shell
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rapt
Here are 10 of the songs that held us rapt throughout the year.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Not long into the Canadian screening, they were held rapt by film but quickly realized their contemporaries in the room didn’t feel the same way.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 7 Oct. 2024
Seemingly the entire Spanish tennis community, along with a large international audience, watched the match in Malaga, Spain, utterly rapt, sometimes in tears.
—Corey Seymour, Vogue, 19 Nov. 2024
Ruth, rapt, reads aloud from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rapt 
Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Not long into the Canadian screening, they were held rapt by film but quickly realized their contemporaries in the room didn’t feel the same way.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 7 Oct. 2024
Seemingly the entire Spanish tennis community, along with a large international audience, watched the match in Malaga, Spain, utterly rapt, sometimes in tears.
—Corey Seymour, Vogue, 19 Nov. 2024
Ruth, rapt, reads aloud from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rapt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapt
Adjective
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The title track starts off sounding like gamelan music, then turns into a busy-grooved evocation on finding catharsis by going for a swim at a busy beach, creating her own ecstatic iteration of traditional baptismal blues imagery.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jan. 2025
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Breakthroughs in reasoning are why many AI experts waxed ecstatic over OpenAI’s release of its o3 and o3 mini models last month.—
Clint Boulton,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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No one questioned Bondi’s experience Republicans were giddy when discussing the prospect of Bondi overseeing the Department of Justice.—
Kirby Wilson,
Miami Herald,
15 Jan. 2025
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But traveling with kids has a way of softening FOMO: those stone temples have been there for a millennium, and Tove will only be a giddy six-year-old for a heartbeat.—
Naomi Tomky,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Although the mercury hovered at only 5°, all of us became so absorbed in the rabbit chase that no one noticed numb toes and cold ears.—
Erwin A. Bauer,
Outdoor Life,
25 Dec. 2024
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Because of this, absorbed sunlight isn’t reradiated in every direction equally but in some directions more than others.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
20 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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The association noted that some members may be interested in the shorter workweek but may be hesitant.—
Lauren Irwin,
The Hill,
16 Jan. 2025
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As of now, the Heat is not interested in having Butler remain away from the team while paying him the remainder of his $48.8 million salary for this season after his suspension is over.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
16 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Rapt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapt. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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