excite

Etymology

From Middle English exciten, from Old French exciter, from Latin excitare (“call out, call forth, arouse, wake up, stimulate”), frequentative of exciere (“call out, arouse, excite”), from ex (“out”) + ciere (“call, summon”). See cite and compare to accite, concite, incite.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĭk-sītʹ, IPA^(key): /ɪkˈsaɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪt
• Hyphenation: ex‧cite

Verb

excite (third-person singular simple present excites, present participle exciting, simple past and past participle excited)

1. (transitive) To stir the emotions of.

   Antonyms: affect, move, touch

   Antonyms: relax, calm

   The fireworks which opened the festivities excited anyone present.

2. (transitive) To arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.

   Synonyms: instigate, provoke; see also Thesaurus:incite, Thesaurus:thrill

   Favoritism tends to excite jealousy in the ones not being favored.

   The political reforms excited unrest among the population.

   There are drugs designed to excite certain nerves in our body.

   • [c. 1430, Guillaume de Deguileville, chapter LXXXXIX, in [anonymous], transl., edited by William Aldis Wright, The Pilgrimage of the Lyf of the Manhode. From the French (Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.1.7) (in Middle English), London: Printed for the Roxburghe Club; J[ohn] B[owyer] Nichols and Sons, […], published 1869, →OCLC, 1st part, folio 39, page 54:

     [S]eint Poul seith and to the Romayns he hath writen that bi heeringe of swich ringinge men haven the feith perfytliche so that he putte not the ringinge in the scrippe but it exiteth the memorie in what manere men shulden bileeue

     [S]aint Paul says and to the Romans he has written that by hearing of such ringing men have the faith perfectly so that he did not put the ringing in the script but it exciteth the memory in what manner men should believe]

3. (transitive, physics) To cause an electron to move to a higher than normal state; to promote an electron to an outer level.

   By applying electric potential to the neon atoms, the electrons become excited, then emit a photon when returning to normal.

4. To energize (an electromagnet); to produce a magnetic field in.

   to excite a dynamo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛk.sit/

Verb

excite

1. inflection of exciter:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ekˈskiː.te/, [ɛkˈs̠kiːt̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ekˈʃi.te/, [ekˈʃiːt̪e]

Verb

excīte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of exciō

Pronunciation

Verb

excite

1. inflection of excitar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [eksˈt͡ʃite]

Verb

excite

1. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of excita

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /eɡsˈθite/ [eɣ̞sˈθi.t̪e]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /eɡˈsite/ [eɣ̞ˈsi.t̪e]
• Rhymes: -ite
• Syllabification: ex‧ci‧te

Verb

excite

1. inflection of excitar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative