- present participle of titillate.
titillating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of titillating
First recorded in 1670–80; titillat(e) ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )
Explanation
When something is titillating, it makes you feel thrilled or excited. For your book report, your English teacher will probably make you read a serious novel rather than a titillating romance. The adjective titillating implies a certain cheap or fleeting kind of excitement. Titillating things are unimportant and entertaining—maybe even a little bit lewd. The word comes from the Latin word titillationem, "a tickling," and its root titillare, " to tickle," which imitates the sound of giggling.
Vocabulary lists containing titillating
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.
Much of the chatter never moves past a relatively small, dishy circle of political gossips because the supposed misdeeds, while titillating, can’t stand up to rigorous scrutiny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
The latter involves computer nerds clicking away at keyboards, which isn't as cinematic and emotionally arresting as the Zapruder film or titillating stories about alien abductions.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2025
I acknowledge that chaos is titillating, and change can be exciting, and I understand the lure of joining an elite conference and what that can mean as far as prestige and visibility.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Gender norms, for one thing, have shifted dramatically enough that the old question of whether Gallimard knew that Song was a man is barely titillating at all.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
It was titillating to brush up against the enigma of mortality, to steal a glimpse across its forbidden frontier.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
