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:
Musk’s ability to excite investors with his vision for the future is one of his greatest abilities as a leader.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
"I have no desire or ambition to be president of FIFA. That doesn't excite me," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I’ve been lucky enough that I’m trying to just chase those things that excite me creatively. And so far I’ve gotten to do that. Hopefully I can keep it up.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
That’s despite the company’s efforts to excite investors by broadening its business through partnerships and embracing new technology.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
Inevitably, as Mathew Carey realized, the fear in Philadelphia began to excite “the terror of the inhabitants of all neighboring states.”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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
The key to the style of campaigning that won out on Tuesday, according to Andrabi, is having a vision for what politics can deliver that excites people.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
But here’s what excites me most about the brave new world of mathematics the A.I. industry has us careening toward: We will have a much sharper sense of what the truly difficult problems are.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
The sight of a closed trap excites me to this day.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
They are released when excited atomic nuclei lose energy and move into lower, more stable states during radioactive decay.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
"We have the best people and I'm excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again," said Verstappen, 28.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
So nothing against your beloved, but I would be excited to see an underdog or somebody kind of an outsider.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Doctors and patients are excited about the possible breakthrough, but some analysts believe there’s too much hype.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
He didn’t seem to be the least bit excited about the ponies.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
"This is exciting because such a slower shock would make the fusion fuel more compressible. That in turn increases the maximum energy yield we could obtain with the same laser energy."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
“What an exciting week for bond markets” isn’t generally a phrase one wants to hear, but here we are.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rachel Brown-Finnis: Iraola is Liverpool's most exciting signing in recent years.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
And I think what’s exciting here is that these are just two very different performances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s like real life except more exciting and everyone is so brave.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
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.
