excite
Americanverb (used with object)
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excites,
present (3rd person singular)
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excited,
past participle, past
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exciting
present participle
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excitesimple
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excitessimple
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have excitedperfect
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has excitedperfect
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am excitingprogressive
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are excitingprogressive
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is excitingprogressive
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have been excitingperfect progressive
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has been excitingperfect progressive
Past
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excitedsimple
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had excitedperfect
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was excitingprogressive
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were excitingprogressive
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had been excitingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
At this critical point, lasers can excite the system into a sequence of specific energy states.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
“I want to keep doing fun things. I want to keep being challenged. … I don’t really know where I’m going, but something will excite me, and I’d be like, ‘OK, what the hell?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The reintroduction of the heavy-duty, all-electric truck comes at an intriguing time for the industry — but it may not be enough to excite Tesla investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
George Gianarikas, a bullish analyst at Canaccord, told MarketWatch earlier this week that announcing an expansion into multiple markets with more than just a few Cybercabs in each would excite investors.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
"What excites me most is the scale of the connection," Roy said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
When you think about someone eventually carrying on the “Survivor” legacy, is that something that excites you?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
“But it excites me that young directors are exploring the genre’s possibilities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
"I'm excited now because I'm not 'Lucy the footballer' anymore. It might be hard to come to terms with down the line, but at the moment, it just excites me."
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
There’s a bounce in his step, as if this whole water crisis excites him in some sick way.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
He was like a young actor, excited about the next gig.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
McCarthy was excited at the prospect of publishing a book but more immediately concerned with Lee’s pregnancy and their living conditions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
It’s not as easy as it used to be to get Micron Technology investors excited.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
“We told them that if she wins, ‘Y’all can actually go back to school, a public school,’ and they’re excited.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
I wouldn’t get too excited until that hundred dollar monkey came leaping by.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
While the second half in Slovenia showed Pocognoli's system can be exciting, it remains unclear if it best suits this Scotland squad?
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“The attention that they were getting is sort of exciting because that’s not something that happens to us very often.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
It should work on autopilot, avoiding rash decisions that can be influenced by scary or exciting headlines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
But friction is really part of what makes chemistry exciting.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
“I assure you, Mr. Jarvis, Jakob is not exciting enough to be a spy.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
