titillate

[tit-l-eyt]

verb (used with object)

titillated, titillating 

1. to excite or arouse agreeably, often in a sexually suggestive way.

   She knows how to titillate the senses and enthrall the mind of her readers with her excellent storytelling.

   Synonyms: tempt, rouse

2. to tickle; excite a tingling or itching sensation in, as by touching or stroking lightly.

titillate

/ ˈtɪtɪˌleɪt /

verb

1. to arouse, tease, interest, or excite pleasurably and often superficially

2. to cause a tickling or tingling sensation in, esp by touching

Other Word Forms

• titillation noun
• titillative adjective
• untitillated adjective
• untitillating adjective
• titillating adjective
• titillatingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of titillate¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin tītillātus, past participle of tītillāre “to tickle”; -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of titillate¹

C17: from Latin tītillāre

Example Sentences

It was once the job of “sleazy” tabloids to destroy lives with lurid gossip that titillated the public but lacked public interest in the high-minded sense.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But Hindemith’s “Sancta Susanna,” with its startling love affair between a nun and her maid servant, titillated German audiences at the start of the roaring twenties, and still can.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A good newspaper seeks scoops that illuminate reality and don’t merely titillate.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But I’ve always felt a little titillated by the newness, even the dislocation,” she says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The judge said that Williams had used her position as a primary school teacher to "titillate" Surtees.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• amuse 
• entertain 
• tantalize 
• tease 
• tickle