To rejoice means to feel or show great joy and delight. When you rejoice, you're celebrating something wonderful with your whole heart, expressing happiness that fills you completely. You might rejoice when your team wins the championship, when a beloved relative visits after years away, or when you finally master something you've worked hard to learn.

The word carries a sense of expressing your joy outwardly, not just feeling it privately. People rejoice together at weddings, graduation ceremonies, and holiday celebrations. When a community rejoices, everyone shares in the happiness, making it even stronger.

You'll often see rejoice in songs, stories, and speeches about important moments. “Rejoice!” someone might exclaim when sharing exciting news. The related word rejoicing describes the act or sound of celebration itself: “There was great rejoicing in the village when the lost child was found safe.”

While rejoice and celebrate are similar, rejoice focuses more on the inner feeling of deep happiness bubbling up and outward, while celebrate emphasizes the outward actions of marking an occasion. You can rejoice quietly in your heart, though the word suggests that joy is too big to keep completely hidden.