stimulation

American  

[stim-yuh-ley-shuhn] / ˌstɪm jəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

stimulations plural

1. the act of exciting a nerve, gland, etc., to its functional activity.

   The fungus is known to have diverse effects on the body, from stimulation of the nervous system to constriction of blood vessels.

2. something that arouses interest, inspiration, or incitement to action.

   Children, with their developing brains, love stimulation and novelty.

3. a cause or incitement.

   Improved rural-urban communication links often act as stimulation for the growth of local towns.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antistimulation
  noun
• hyperstimulation
  noun
• interstimulation
  noun
• nonstimulation
  noun
• overstimulation
  noun
• prestimulation
  noun
• restimulation
  noun
• self-stimulation
  noun
• superstimulation
  noun
• poststimulation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stimulations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stimulation

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin stimulātiō “incentive”; equivalent to stimulate ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Stimulation spurs an organism to act. It can also be any specific event that causes someone to do something. Have you ever had a teacher who made you excited about a subject you didn't like before, causing you to study harder and learn more? That teacher must've provided stimulation: through the teacher, you were motivated to give more effort to the class. Like a stimulant, stimulation causes things to happen. A doctor hitting your knee is a type of stimulation that makes your leg jerk up. In zoos, animals are provided with food-based stimulation to make them exercise.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stimulation stimulations

Clinical psychologist Cathy Grant said electrical stimulation briefly stopped Tilly from naming objects, helping surgeons identify tissue that needed to be protected.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Among other things, the WHO suggested cognitive stimulation and training for adults experiencing mild cognitive impairment.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Current treatments, including levodopa and deep-brain stimulation, can help reduce symptoms.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026

Five years ago, Rhi had a procedure to put a sacral nerve stimulation system in place - where the nerves controlling the bowel can be stimulated with a device implanted under the skin.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

It was a place of energy and creativity and intellectual stimulation the likes of which we’d never seen.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Electrical stimulations are important first steps towards the team's bigger goal of triggering learning in the biocomputer's neurons so they can eventually adapt to perform tasks.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025

It turned out that both were equally as sensitive to the strong stimulations.

From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2023

These electric stimulations mimicked the mechanical stimuli of a collision.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2023

Knowing where to direct brain stimulations also does not resolve the question of what frequency to use, scientists said.

From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2022

By itself, or by suggestions and stimulations offered to others, the association is aiming at the culture of the village people through other agencies than those of outward and physical adornment.

From Village Improvements and Farm Villages by Waring, George E. (George Edwin)

Related Words

• incentive
• stimulant