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
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.
Excitable chatter is the currency of exchange at Westminster and the chatter about confidence votes and the like might not come to anything.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2023
Excitable tech journalists sometimes referred to it as the Library of Alexandria, but for code.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 23, 2019
Excitable as Judith is, she has a limited imagination, and she vents it at regularly timed intervals.
From New York Times • Apr. 12, 2016
MythTrusters: Excitable Guy: Is it true that a broken mirror causes seven years of bad luck?
From Washington Post • Jul. 1, 2015
Excitable by temperament, delicate in body, and overwrought in mind, Robert Emmett had swooned away.
From My Lords of Strogue, Vol. I (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Wingfield, Lewis
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.
