excite
Americanverb (used with object)
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excites,
present (3rd person singular)
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excited,
past participle, past
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exciting
present participle
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to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of.
to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father's wrath.
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to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings).
to excite jealousy or hatred.
- Synonyms:
- evoke
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to cause; awaken.
to excite interest or curiosity.
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to stir to action; provoke or stir up.
to excite a dog by baiting him.
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Physiology. to stimulate.
to excite a nerve.
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Electricity. to supply with electricity for producing electric activity or a magnetic field.
to excite a dynamo.
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Physics. to raise (an atom, molecule, etc.) to an excited state.
verb
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to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation
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to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evoke
her answers excited curiosity
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to cause or bring about; stir up
to excite a rebellion
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to arouse sexually
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physiol to cause a response in or increase the activity of (an organ, tissue, or part); stimulate
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to raise (an atom, molecule, electron, nucleus, etc) from the ground state to a higher energy level
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to supply electricity to (the coils of a generator or motor) in order to create a magnetic field
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to supply a signal to a stage of an active electronic circuit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excitesimple
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excitessimple
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have excitedperfect
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has excitedperfect
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am excitingprogressive
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are excitingprogressive
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is excitingprogressive
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have been excitingperfect progressive
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has been excitingperfect progressive
Past
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excitedsimple
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had excitedperfect
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was excitingprogressive
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were excitingprogressive
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had been excitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of excite
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”)
Explanation
To excite is to stimulate, animate, or energize. The return of your favorite TV show might excite you, and winning millions of dollars in the lottery will definitely excite you. While a new book by a beloved author excites one person, and an extra scoop of ice cream excites another, it might take something like a free trip to Hawaii to excite you. In quantum mechanics, the word excite takes on a more scientific meaning: to raise something, like an atom or an electron, to a higher level of energy. The Latin root of excite is excitare, "rouse, call out, or summon forth."
Vocabulary lists containing excite
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.
See Examples For:
Car sales account for the bulk of Tesla’s revenue, which it needs to fund flashier projects like robotaxis and humanoid robots that can excite investors.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
At this critical point, lasers can excite the system into a sequence of specific energy states.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
“I want to keep doing fun things. I want to keep being challenged. … I don’t really know where I’m going, but something will excite me, and I’d be like, ‘OK, what the hell?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Craig Mulholland, the Scottish FA's chief football officer, said Pocognoli "will bring an aggressive, front-foot style of play that will excite supporters", adding that Scotland are aiming to "evolve from a position of strength".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“I will send for Valentini. Do not worry and excite yourself. Be a good boy.”
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
"What excites me most is the scale of the connection," Roy said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
"He excites the fans which is imperative for a club like Liverpool. Not only can he beat players - he can bring others into the game and he can score goals which is massive."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
When you think about someone eventually carrying on the “Survivor” legacy, is that something that excites you?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Looking back on your experience with vertical video so far, what is it that excites you versus traditional television?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
This has been, all along, what most excites Dr. Gazzaley—not just the hunt to understand attention, and technology’s impact on it, but the effort to expand it.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
"I'm incredibly excited to be part of it."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
“It’s playoff crunch time and so it’s always exciting, especially when you’re team is in it. So I’m excited to see where they do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“You should not read someone’s research and say, ‘Oh, because they’re excited about the cycle that means this is going to continue,’ because the reality is that’s their incentive.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Executive trading is far from a foolproof timing signal because they aren’t always good judges of how excited or dejected Wall Street is about their sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
All excited, Daisy said, “I’ll go and get them some apples.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
It’s been really exciting to join as their leader and raise the bar on the team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
A “stable” labor market might not sound exciting, but the effect has been to keep unemployment historically low.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
“It’s funny because with him being the veteran in our group and quote-unquote ‘the old guy,’ it’s been really exciting for him,” Nacua said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
"MEGATRON provides a common physical framework for interpreting two of astronomy's most exciting new datasets: JWST's view of the earliest galaxies and the stellar fossil record," said Dr. Rey.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
In leaving mediumship for Elisha’s sake, she had also left behind an exciting life with fellow celebrities, new ideas, and lively conversation.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
