Adjacent Words

Excite definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EXCI'TE, v.t. [L. excito; ex and cito, to cite, to call or provoke.]
1. To rouse; to call into action; to animate; to stir up; to cause to act that which is dormant, stupid or inactive; as, to excite the spirits or courage.
2. To stimulate; to give new or increased action to; as, to excite the human system; to excite the bowels.
3. To raise; to create; to put in motion; as, to excite a mutiny or insurrection.
4. To rouse; to inflame; as, to excite the passions.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: arouse or elicit a feeling
2: act as a stimulant; "The book stimulated her imagination"; "This play stimulates" [syn: stimulate, excite] [ant: dampen, stifle]
3: stir feelings in; "stimulate my appetite"; "excite the audience"; "stir emotions" [syn: stimulate, excite, stir]
4: cause to be agitated, excited, or roused; "The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks" [syn: agitate, rouse, turn on, charge, commove, excite, charge up] [ant: calm, calm down, lull, quiet, quieten, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize]
5: stimulate sexually; "This movie usually arouses the male audience" [syn: arouse, sex, excite, turn on, wind up]
6: stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of; "These stories shook the community"; "the civil war shook the country" [syn: stimulate, shake, shake up, excite, stir]
7: raise to a higher energy level; "excite the atoms" [syn: excite, energize, energise]
8: produce a magnetic field in; "excite the neurons"

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (excited; exciting) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French exciter, from Latin excitare, from ex- + citare to rouse — more at cite Date: 14th century 1. a. to call to activity b. to rouse to an emotional response <scenes to excite the hardest man to pity> c. to arouse (as a strong emotional response) by appropriate stimuli <excite enthusiasm for the new regime — Arthur Knight> 2. a. energize <excite an electromagnet> b. to produce a magnetic field in <excite a dynamo> 3. to increase the activity of (as a living organism) ; stimulate 4. to raise (as an atomic nucleus, an atom, or a molecule) to a higher energy level Synonyms: see provoke • excitedly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a rouse the feelings or emotions of (a person). b bring into play; rouse up (feelings, faculties, etc.). c arouse sexually. 2 provoke; bring about (an action or active condition). 3 promote the activity of (an organism, tissue, etc.) by stimulus. 4 Electr. a cause (a current) to flow in the winding of an electromagnet. b supply a signal. 5 Physics a cause the emission of (a spectrum). b cause (a substance) to emit radiation. c put (an atom etc.) into a state of higher energy. Derivatives: excitant adj. & n. excitative adj. excitatory adj. excitedly adv. excitedness n. excitement n. exciter n. (esp. in senses 4, 5). Etymology: ME f. OF exciter or L excitare frequent. of exciere (as EX-(1), ciere set in motion)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Excite Ex*cite", v. t. (Elec.) To energize (an electro-magnet); to produce a magnetic field in; as, to excite a dynamo.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Excite Ex*cite", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Excited; p. pr. & vb. n. exciting.] [L. excitare; ex out + citare to move rapidly, to rouse: cf. OF. esciter, exciter, F. exciter. See Cite.] 1. To call to activity in any way; to rouse to feeling; to kindle to passionate emotion; to stir up to combined or general activity; as, to excite a person, the spirits, the passions; to excite a mutiny or insurrection; to excite heat by friction. 2. (Physiol.) To call forth or increase the vital activity of an organism, or any of its parts. Syn: To incite; awaken; animate; rouse or arouse; stimulate; inflame; irritate; provoke. Usage: To Excite, Incite. When we excite we rouse into action feelings which were less strong; when we incite we spur on or urge forward to a specific act or end. Demosthenes excited the passions of the Athenians against Philip, and thus incited the whole nation to unite in the war against him. Antony, by his speech over the body of C[ae]sar, so excited the feelings of the populace, that Brutus and his companions were compelled to flee from Rome; many however, were incited to join their standard, not only by love of liberty, but hopes of plunder.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(excites, exciting, excited) 1. If something excites you, it makes you feel very happy, eager, or enthusiastic. I only take on work that excites me, even if it means turning down lots of money... Where the show really excites is in the display of avant-garde photography. VERB: V n, V 2. If something excites a particular feeling, emotion, or reaction in someone, it causes them to experience it. Daniel's early exposure to motor racing did not excite his interest... = arouse VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Arouse, rouse, awaken, evoke, provoke, call forth, stimulate, incite, animate, kindle, inflame, brew, stir up. 2. Raise, create, evoke, elicit, give rise to, put in motion. 3. Disturb, agitate, discompose, irritate, provoke.

Moby Thesaurus

activate, affect the interest, agitate, anger, animate, annoy, arouse, attract, awake, awaken, beat, beat up, begin, blow the coals, blow up, bring about, call forth, call up, cause, churn, churn up, concern, convulse, cultivate, disarrange, discompose, disconcert, disquiet, disturb, effect, electrify, elicit, energize, enkindle, enliven, enrage, excite interest, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, fascinate, feed the fire, ferment, fire, fire up, flame, flurry, fluster, foment, frenzy, fret, galvanize, generate, get going, heat, heat up, hop up, ignite, impassion, incense, incite, inflame, infuriate, initiate, inspire, inspirit, instigate, interest, intrigue, invigorate, invite, involve in, key up, kindle, lather up, light the fuse, light up, madden, make sensitive, motivate, move, nettle, occasion, overexcite, paddle, perturb, perturbate, pique, prime, prod, provoke, put up to, quicken, rally, refine, rile, ripple, roil, roughen, rouse, ruffle, rumple, sensibilize, sensitize, set astir, set fire to, set in motion, set on, set on fire, shake, shake up, sharpen, sic on, spark, spur on, start, steam up, stimulate, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers, stir the feelings, stir up, summon up, swirl, tantalize, thrill, tickle, titillate, touch off, trouble, turn on, upset, urge, wake, wake up, waken, warm, warm the blood, whet, whip, whip up, whisk, wind up, work into, work up