stimulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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stimulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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stimulated,
past participle, past
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stimulating
present participle
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to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite.
A childhood summer learning program was the first thing to stimulate his interest in mathematics.
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Physiology, Medicine/Medical. to excite (a nerve, gland, etc.) to its functional activity.
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to invigorate (a person) by a food or beverage containing a stimulant such as coffee or tea.
verb (used without object)
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stimulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stimulated,
past participle, past
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stimulating
present participle
verb
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(tr; usually passive) to fill (a person) with ideas or enthusiasm
he was stimulated by the challenge
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(tr) physiol to excite (a nerve, organ, etc) with a stimulus
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to encourage (something) to start or progress further
a cut in interest rates should help stimulate economic recovery
Synonym Usage
See animate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stimulabilitynoun
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stimulaternoun
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stimulationnoun
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stimulatornoun
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overstimulateverb
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interstimulateverb (used with object)
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prestimulateverb (used with object)
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restimulateverb (used with object)
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superstimulateverb (used with object)
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nonstimulableadjective
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self-stimulatedadjective
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stimulableadjective
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stimulativeadjective
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unstimulableadjective
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unstimulatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stimulatesimple
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stimulatessimple
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have stimulatedperfect
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has stimulatedperfect
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am stimulatingprogressive
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are stimulatingprogressive
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is stimulatingprogressive
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have been stimulatingperfect progressive
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has been stimulatingperfect progressive
Past
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stimulatedsimple
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had stimulatedperfect
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was stimulatingprogressive
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were stimulatingprogressive
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had been stimulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stimulate
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin stimulāt(us) “goaded” (past participle of stimulāre “to goad, incite,” from stimulus stimulus ( def. ) ); see -ate 1
Explanation
If the economy is starting to stall, the president can't just sit there. He has to stimulate—turn it on, bring it to life, perk it up. You can stimulate practically anything: a person, a conversation, a mind, or even the growth of a plant. Stimulate is often used to describe a physical or sexual sensation, but don't get bogged down in that kind of thinking. Often, a government will try to stimulate economic activity by creating a stimulus package. Or, say, for example, that I'm trying to sell my new song CD. In order to stimulate interest, I need to send out a sample song to all my friends. Unless, of course, my songs are no good.
Vocabulary lists containing stimulate
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Game Changer
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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:
"It's well appreciated that different intensities of exercise stimulate distinct body-wide adaptations," notes Luke Olsen, the postdoctoral fellow who conducted the studies.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
The project is a test of whether state intervention can stimulate new manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
These new drugs – including Ozempic and Wegovy – mimic the GLP-1 hormone to stimulate insulin release, slow digestion, and increase feelings of fullness.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
They say vaccines today are more precise and stimulate the immune system with fewer antigens than vaccines in the past while protecting against more diseases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The plan was I’d administer first one drug to suppress my ovaries and then later a new drug to stimulate them, the idea being that they’d then produce a cascade of viable eggs.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Reynoso said the betting "stimulates many senses" for the animals on top of providing entertainment for an audience giddy with excitement ahead of the world's biggest football bonanza.
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
These sell for hundreds of pounds, if not thousands, with manufacturers claiming that use of red light stimulates collagen production and reduces fine lines.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
When adults were treated with thyroid hormone, which stimulates liver cell growth, their cells began accumulating mutations at rates similar to those seen in juveniles.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026
For starters, the policy rate is currently at the lower end of the estimated growth range for neutral, a level that neither stimulates or subtracts from growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
They seemed to forget that the increase of known truths stimulates the investigation, establishment, and growth of the arts.'
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
That willingness resulted in excess demand that ultimately stimulated acute demand-pull inflation—that is, price increases caused by demand outpacing available goods and services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“That’s really what stimulated the conversation of the possibility.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Five years ago, Rhi had a procedure to put a sacral nerve stimulation system in place - where the nerves controlling the bowel can be stimulated with a device implanted under the skin.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
This “Animal Farm” is ignorant of the fact that kids need to be stimulated by more than scatalogical humor to actually influence their perspectives, rather than cater to their existing tastes and knowledge.
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
Because all the free usage stimulated a massive growth in the network, which was valuable to all the paying customers.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
Egg freezing involves stimulating the ovaries with hormone injections before mature eggs are surgically retrieved and preserved for possible future use through in vitro fertilization.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
On the other hand, variety can be stimulating.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
IVF involves stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs, retrieving them, fertilising them in a laboratory and then implanting the resulting embryo back into the womb.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Gathering together some of the anthology’s pithiest and most striking quotations, Mr. Romm’s book is an intriguing and occasionally frustrating aperitif that doesn’t fully satisfy but is nonetheless stimulating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Radios were innocuous, being still in the catwhisker and headphone stage, and featuring such stimulating programs as the Arlington Time Signals.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
