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.

Nearby words

Origin of excite

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

SYNONYMS FOR excite

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR excite ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspre·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. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
“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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Henri accompanied me thither, and that, while they remained there, nothing happened to excite any alarm.
The Mysteries of Udolpho|Ann Radcliffe
She feared lest the sight of his gaolers might excite Jamie.
In the Roar of the Sea|Sabine Baring-Gould
I did not suffer their entrance nor their exit to excite me.
Short Story Classics (American) Vol. 2|Various
They were too insignificant to attract much attention from the government, or excite the jealousy of a great corporation.
A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon|John Lord, A.M.
Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.
The Pursuit of God|A. W. Tozer

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

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.