excite
Americanverb (used with object)
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to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of.
to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father's wrath.
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to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings).
to excite jealousy or hatred.
- Synonyms:
- evoke
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to cause; awaken.
to excite interest or curiosity.
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to stir to action; provoke or stir up.
to excite a dog by baiting him.
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Physiology. to stimulate.
to excite a nerve.
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Electricity. to supply with electricity for producing electric activity or a magnetic field.
to excite a dynamo.
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Physics. to raise (an atom, molecule, etc.) to an excited state.
verb
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to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation
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to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evoke
her answers excited curiosity
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to cause or bring about; stir up
to excite a rebellion
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to arouse sexually
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physiol to cause a response in or increase the activity of (an organ, tissue, or part); stimulate
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to raise (an atom, molecule, electron, nucleus, etc) from the ground state to a higher energy level
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to supply electricity to (the coils of a generator or motor) in order to create a magnetic field
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to supply a signal to a stage of an active electronic circuit
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of excite
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin excitāre, from ex- ex- 1 + citāre “to move repeatedly, set in motion, summon” (from ciēre “to arouse, cause to go, move”)
Explanation
To excite is to stimulate, animate, or energize. The return of your favorite TV show might excite you, and winning millions of dollars in the lottery will definitely excite you. While a new book by a beloved author excites one person, and an extra scoop of ice cream excites another, it might take something like a free trip to Hawaii to excite you. In quantum mechanics, the word excite takes on a more scientific meaning: to raise something, like an atom or an electron, to a higher level of energy. The Latin root of excite is excitare, "rouse, call out, or summon forth."
Vocabulary lists containing excite
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of the studies' authors says he has even demanded in a cease-and-desist letter that Excite take his studies off its website because Excite has no rights to his intellectual property.
From Salon • Nov. 21, 2020
The prominent venture capitalist was able to negotiate Page and Brin down to as low as $750,000, but Excite CEO George Bell still wouldn’t take the deal.
From The Verge • Dec. 4, 2019
Remember the search engines Lycos and Excite, or vanished digital publications like Feed or Suck?
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 1, 2018
It has outlasted other formerly iconic Internet portals, from AltaVista to Excite, and even dwarfs more recent web sensations like Myspace and Ask.com.
From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2014
Excite myself! isn’t there enough to excite me?
From Talkers With Illustrations by Bate, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
