excite

[ik-sahyt] /ɪkˈsaɪt/
verb (used with object), excited, exciting.
1.
to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of:
to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father's wrath.
2.
to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings):
to excite jealousy or hatred.
3.
to cause; awaken:
to excite interest or curiosity.
4.
to stir to action; provoke or stir up:
to excite a dog by baiting him.
5.
Physiology. to stimulate:
to excite a nerve.
6.
Electricity. to supply with electricity for producing electric activity or a magnetic field:
to excite a dynamo.
7.
Physics. to raise (an atom, molecule, etc.) to an excited state.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English < Latin excitāre, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + citāre, frequentative of ciēre to set in motion
Related forms
preexcite, verb (used with object), preexcited, preexciting.
Synonyms
1. stir, awaken, stimulate, animate, kindle, inflame. 2. evoke. 4. disturb, agitate, ruffle.
Examples from the web for excite
  • The main goal of this book is to inspire and excite people.
  • Few events in the natural world excite people more than the fall migration of the monarch butterfly.
  • Those charged particles can excite atoms in the ionosphere, which emit light as they return to their unexcited state.
  • He does not excite much of the wider electorate either.
  • Atop the rostrum he would impugn his enemies, excite crowds to action and deflect his detractors' barbs.
  • Incoming photons excite the atoms in the material, and make them spit out more identical photons.
  • He did not at any one time take enough money to excite suspicion.
  • The point is that predisposing oneself to commit an offense should not excite police attention.
  • Confronting that rabble will only excite them even more.
  • If content owners try to restrict access, they'll fail to excite much interest.
British Dictionary definitions for excite

excite

/ɪkˈsaɪt/
verb (transitive)
1.
to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation
2.
to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evoke: her answers excited curiosity
3.
to cause or bring about; stir up: to excite a rebellion
4.
to arouse sexually
5.
(physiol) to cause a response in or increase the activity of (an organ, tissue, or part); stimulate
6.
to raise (an atom, molecule, electron, nucleus, etc) from the ground state to a higher energy level
7.
to supply electricity to (the coils of a generator or motor) in order to create a magnetic field
8.
to supply a signal to a stage of an active electronic circuit
Word Origin
C14: from Latin excitāre, from exciēre to stimulate, from ciēre to set in motion, rouse
Word Origin and History for excite
v.

mid-14c., "to move, stir up, instigate," from Old French esciter (12c.) or directly from Latin excitare "rouse, call out, summon forth, produce," frequentative of exciere "call forth, instigate," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + ciere "set in motion, call" (see cite). Of feelings, from late 14c. Of bodily organs or tissues, from 1831. Main modern sense of "emotionally agitate" is first attested 1821.