excite Meaning, Definition & Usage

verb arouse or elicit a feeling
verb act as a stimulant
stimulate.
- The book stimulated her imagination
- This play stimulates
verb stir feelings in
stir; stimulate.
- stimulate my appetite
- excite the audience
- stir emotions
verb cause to be agitated, excited, or roused
commove; turn on; charge up; agitate; charge; rouse.
- The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks
verb stimulate sexually
turn on; arouse; wind up; sex.
- This movie usually arouses the male audience
verb stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of
stir; shake up; stimulate; shake.
- These stories shook the community
- the civil war shook the country
verb raise to a higher energy level
energise; energize.
- excite the atoms
verb produce a magnetic field in
- excite the neurons

L. excitare; ex out + citare to move rapidly, to rouse: cf. OF. esciter, exciter, F. exciter. See Cite.

imperfect & past participle Excited; present participle & verbal noun exciting

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.
(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. -- 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 Cæsar, 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.