excitement
Americannoun
-
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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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:
Several younger players have been involved, including midfielders Reggie Walsh and Landon Emenalo, winger Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and defender Calvin Diakite, which has added excitement to the group.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
What’s inevitably lost is the excitement of watching a single performer act the chameleon, flipping between characters as if changing psychic TV channels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
I can hardly remember if I joined the chorus, or if the excitement was so heavy that I just felt like an equal part of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Yet the cost of that excitement can upend a well-structured financial plan, Orr says.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
To anticipate danger with a feeling of fear or excitement.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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
One of the great excitements about any wedding, of course, is the moment you learn who has been invited and who has not.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2018
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.
