excite

[ik-sahyt]

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.

Origin of excite

1300–50; Middle English < Latin excitāre, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + citāre, frequentative of ciēre to set in motion

Related formspre·ex·cite, verb (used with object), pre·ex·cit·ed, pre·ex·cit·ing.

Synonyms for excite

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR excite ON THESAURUS.COM

1. stir, awaken, stimulate, animate, kindle, inflame. 2. evoke. 4. disturb, agitate, ruffle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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 excited.
The Devil in Mike Huckabee
Dean Obeidallah
January 6, 2015
Condon is proud to be different, to work on the projects that excite him.
Can Condon's Freak Show Win Broadway?
Tim Teeman
November 18, 2014
The innovation Ohanian sees in new entrepreneurs seems to excite him most.
The 'Mayor of the Internet' Fights the Good Fight
Gideon Resnick
August 26, 2014
“You have to have some issue to excite the voters,” he says.
How Republican Candidates Have Made Life Easier for Democratic Senators
Eleanor Clift
May 27, 2014
He called Obama "Kommandant" and a "socialistic dictator" to excite those on the right.
How Michael Grimm's Threat Ruined Randy Weber's Troll
Ben Jacobs
January 29, 2014

Historical Examples of excite

Supposing—— It was cruel to excite and upset her just for that; it made the pain worse.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
He should therefore smile at the futile attempt to excite his jealousy.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
An outlandish appearance, sure to excite observation, is thus avoided.
The Roof of France
Matilda Betham-Edwards
The opinion of numbers is necessary to excite the ambition of individuals.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
There was no reason therefore why our appearance should excite suspicion.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for excite

excite

verb (tr)

to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation

to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evokeher answers excited curiosity

to cause or bring about; stir upto 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

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for excite

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.