Synonyms

stimulating

American

[stim-yuh-ley-ting] / ˈstɪm yəˌleɪ tɪŋ /

adjective

causing interest, inspiration, or incitement to action.

We offer a stimulating work environment with lots of opportunity for growth.
inciting; acting as a cause.

Rapid technological change is described by some authors as a stimulating factor in the decline of traditional ways of growing food.
having the property of exciting a nerve, gland, etc., to its functional activity.

This plant tincture has a stimulating effect on the liver, spleen, and digestive system.

Other Word Forms

nonstimulating adjective
self-stimulating adjective
semistimulating adjective
stimulatingly adverb
unstimulating adjective
unstimulatingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of stimulating

First recorded in 1640–50; stimulate ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

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.

To study this system, researchers recorded brain activity in mice by inserting electrodes and stimulating neurons with light.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

It would be “interesting to attempt to make an intellectually stimulating game where women outperform men,” Rubin wrote in 2016.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2026

It was all a stimulating change from opera-house productions, which often lean on 18th-century elegance instead of exploring the seamy underside and corruption of the demimonde that is at the heart of the piece.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Scientists have discovered how to make people less selfish - at least temporarily - by stimulating two areas of their brain.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

The results have been tantalizing, annoying, provocative, stimulating, and, at least until recently, substantially inconclusive.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023