Rapture Meaning
/ˈɹæpt͡ʃəː/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounExtreme pleasure, happiness or excitement.
nounAlternative letter-case form of Rapture.
Sentence Examples
Tom believes that the rapture is going to happen any day now.
According to Tom's calculations, the rapture is set to occur in exactly three years.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the concert, the audience experienced pure ____ when the singer hit the perfect note.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She listened to the music in a state of pure ____, completely lost in the beauty of the sound.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French rapture, from Latin raptūra, future active participle of rapiō (“snatch, carry off”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Music, when thus applied, raises noble hints in the mind of the hearer, and fills it with great conceptions. It strengthens devotion, and advances praise into rapture[…]"
— 1712 June 24 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, June 14, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 407; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume IV, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
"Sunderland’s right-back, Santiago Vergini, inadvertently gave Southampton the lead by lashing the ball into his own net in the 12th minute, and that signalled the start of a barmy encounter that had home fans in raptures and Sunderland in tatters."
— 2014 October 18, Paul Doyle, “Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter”, in The Guardian:
"My heart filled with rapture then, and it fills now as it has each of the countless times I have recalled those dear words, as it shall fill always until death has claimed me. I may never see her again; she may not know how I love her--she may question, she may doubt; but always true and steady, and warm with the fires of love my heart beats for the girl who said that night: "I love you beyond all conception.""
— 1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter VII, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:
"In the last week, believers have linked Charlie Kirk’s assassination to the rapture theory: some on TikTok have suggested that Kirk, who in death became a martyr for Christian nationalists and whose memorial service veered into religious revival territory, could be resurrected during the rapture."
— 2025 September 23, Alaina Demopoulos, “‘It’s prime time for rapture talk’: TikTok gets its first ‘world is ending’ moment”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"That 'gainst a rock, or flat, her keel did dash / With headlong rapture."
— 1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume (please specify the book number), London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the concert, the audience experienced pure ____ when the singer hit the perfect note.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She listened to the music in a state of pure ____, completely lost in the beauty of the sound.