excite

[ ik-sahyt ]
See synonyms for: exciteexcitedexcitesexciting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ex·cit·ed, ex·cit·ing.
  1. to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of: to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father's wrath.

  2. to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings): to excite jealousy or hatred.

  1. to cause; awaken: to excite interest or curiosity.

  2. to stir to action; provoke or stir up: to excite a dog by baiting him.

  3. Physiology. to stimulate: to excite a nerve.

  4. Electricity. to supply with electricity for producing electric activity or a magnetic field: to excite a dynamo.

  5. Physics. to raise (an atom, molecule, etc.) to an excited state.

Origin of excite

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin excitāre, from ex- ex-1 + citāre “to move repeatedly, set in motion, summon” (from ciēre “to arouse, cause to go, move”)

Other words for excite

Other words from excite

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

Words Nearby excite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use excite in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for excite

excite

/ (ɪkˈsaɪt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation

  2. to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evoke: her answers excited curiosity

  1. to cause or bring about; stir up: to excite a rebellion

  2. to arouse sexually

  3. physiol to cause a response in or increase the activity of (an organ, tissue, or part); stimulate

  4. to raise (an atom, molecule, electron, nucleus, etc) from the ground state to a higher energy level

  5. to supply electricity to (the coils of a generator or motor) in order to create a magnetic field

  6. to supply a signal to a stage of an active electronic circuit

Origin of excite

1
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