Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for excite on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), ex·cit·ed, ex·cit·ing. to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of: to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father's wrath. to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings): to excite jealousy or hatred. to cause; awaken: to excite interest or curiosity. to stir to action; provoke or stir up: to excite a dog by baiting him. Physiology to stimulate: to excite a nerve. Electricity to supply with electricity for producing electric activity or a magnetic field: to excite a dynamo. Physics to raise (an atom, molecule, etc.) to an excited state . Show More
Origin of excite 1300–50; Middle English <
Latin excitāre, equivalent to
ex- ex-1 +
citāre, frequentative of
ciēre to set in motion
Related forms pre·ex·cite , verb (used with object), pre·ex·cit·ed, pre·ex·cit·ing. Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for excite annoy ,
disturb ,
thrill ,
energize ,
bother ,
vex ,
astound ,
irritate ,
delight ,
amaze ,
anger ,
agitate ,
offend ,
animate ,
worry ,
infuriate ,
move ,
waken ,
jolt ,
elicit Examples from the Web for excite Contemporary Examples of excite They excite people, and primaries tend to be dominated by voters who are the most excite d.
Condon is proud to be different, to work on the projects that excite him.
The innovation Ohanian sees in new entrepreneurs seems to excite him most.
“You have to have some issue to excite the voters,” he says.
He called Obama "Kommandant" and a "socialistic dictator" to excite those on the right.
Historical Examples of excite Supposing—— It was cruel to excite and upset her just for that; it made the pain worse.
He should therefore smile at the futile attempt to excite his jealousy.
An outlandish appearance, sure to excite observation, is thus avoided.
The opinion of numbers is necessary to excite the ambition of individuals.
There was no reason therefore why our appearance should excite suspicion.
British Dictionary definitions for excite to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evoke her answers excited curiosity to cause or bring about; stir up to excite a rebellion to arouse sexually physiol to cause a response in or increase the activity of (an organ, tissue, or part); stimulate to raise (an atom, molecule, electron, nucleus, etc) from the ground state to a higher energy level to supply electricity to (the coils of a generator or motor) in order to create a magnetic field to supply a signal to a stage of an active electronic circuit Show More
Word Origin for excite C14: from Latin excitāre, from exciēre to stimulate, from ciēre to set in motion, rouse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for excite v. mid-14c., "to move, stir up, instigate," from Old French esciter (12c.) or directly from Latin excitare "rouse, call out, summon forth, produce," frequentative of exciere "call forth, instigate," from ex- "out" (see ex- ) + ciere "set in motion, call" (see cite ). Of feelings, from late 14c. Of bodily organs or tissues, from 1831. Main modern sense of "emotionally agitate" is first attested 1821.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
