excitement
Americannoun
-
excitements
plural
-
an excited state or condition.
- Synonyms:
- ado, commotion, perturbation
- Antonyms:
- serenity
-
something that excites.
noun
-
the state of being excited
-
a person or thing that excites; stimulation or thrill
Synonym Usage
See agitation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of excitement
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English excitament, “encouragement,” from Medieval Latin excitāmentum; excite + -ment
Explanation
Excitement is a feeling or situation full of activity, joy, exhilaration, or upheaval. One thing about excitement — it sure isn't boring. There are a few types of excitement, but they're all exciting — they get your attention. If you can't wait for your birthday, you're feeling a happy kind of excitement. If everyone in class is screaming and throwing things, the teacher might ask, "What's all the excitement about?" A sleeping dog is resting — no excitement there. But a dog that’s jumping, barking, and running in circles when his owner comes home is feeling and causing a lot of excitement.
Vocabulary lists containing excitement
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3
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-ment
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"Ithaka" by C.P. Cavafy
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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:
Keeve depicts Mizrahi’s process through personality-rich vignettes that speak to all of the love and excitement in his designs.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
First is a jolt of excitement when seeing the subject line, and then comes disappointment, Carr said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
“There is an excitement and an energy and a hopefulness right now from the production community,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Anfield needs some excitement after a below-par campaign last season which ultimately saw Slot lose the support of the fanbase and his job, a year after winning the Premier League.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
By the time I sat down to dinner, that happiness was doing somersaults of excitement in my stomach.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
In the memoir, Ms. Dunham traces the struggles of her adult life—fame, illness, addiction—with touching emphasis on the early tremulous excitements of becoming well-known: the affirmation, the freebies, the invitations to glittering events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Mr. Palihapitiya found an eager audience in 2020, when millions of people were stuck at home during the pandemic lockdowns, flush with stimulus checks and looking for new excitements.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
The excitements begin amidst blowing dust in Mexico, where in a remote desert some fighter planes missing since World War II suddenly reappear, engines ready to go at the touch of a switch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2017
Not every testimony in “Secondhand Time” is made of fact; a fair number may have been warped by excitements and passions, and the passing of time.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 7, 2016
Captain Beatty, keeping his dignity, backed slowly through the front door, his pink face burnt and shiny from a thousand fires and night excitements.
From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
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.
