excitable
Americanadjective
-
easily excited.
Prima donnas had the reputation of being excitable and temperamental.
- Synonyms:
- fiery, passionate, emotional
- Antonyms:
- placid
-
capable of being excited.
adjective
-
easily excited; volatile
-
(esp of a nerve) ready to respond to a stimulus
Other Word Forms
- excitability noun
- excitableness noun
- excitably adverb
- nonexcitable adjective
- nonexcitableness noun
- nonexcitably adverb
- unexcitable adjective
- unexcitablely adverb
Etymology
Origin of excitable
From the Late Latin word excitābilis, dating back to 1600–10. See excite, -able
Explanation
Someone who's excitable easily becomes excited, enthusiastic, or eager. A five-year-old will be especially excitable at her own birthday party. When you describe someone as excitable, you'll usually mean it as a mild criticism — the person is easily overstimulated, and becomes excited far too readily. Passing out candy in an elementary school classroom — or bacon among a bunch of puppies — will demonstrate just how excitable a group can be. Excitable comes from the Latin excitabilis, "inciting or animating," from excitare, "stir up" or "awaken."
Vocabulary lists containing excitable
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.
I never took a vacation,” Jeffrey says of his devotion to his monthly performances during a recent phone interview after his late January show, which also drew a large, excitable crowd of supporters.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
The fine arts have long struggled with a so-called graying audience, and have moved mountains to innovate in ways that keep the genres fresh in order to attract younger, excitable crowds.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
And it wasn’t lost on Rove that the spindly, excitable man narrating that story for them in a thick Hungarian accent “was once a 16-year-old picking up paving blocks and heaving them at Soviet tanks.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
"They were everything you'd expect: very excitable, really good fun to be around, very funny, witty, charming, annoying. Exactly as you'd imagine for kids at that age," he remembered.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026
Goliath had a much more excitable, impetuous temperament.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
