excite
See also: excité
English
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)
- (transitive) To stir the emotions of.
- The fireworks which opened the festivities excited anyone present.
- (transitive) To arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
- 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.; William Aldis Wright, editor, 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 1107454900, 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]
- (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.
- To energize (an electromagnet); to produce a magnetic field in.
- to excite a dynamo
Conjugation
Conjugation of excite
infinitive | (to) excite | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | excite | excited | |
2nd-person singular | excite, excitest† | excited, excitedst† | |
3rd-person singular | excites, exciteth† | excited | |
plural | excite | ||
subjunctive | excite | excited | |
imperative | excite | — | |
participles | exciting | excited |
†Archaic or obsolete.
Antonyms
- relax, calm
Derived terms
- self-excite
Related terms
- excitement
- excitation
Translations
to stir the emotions of
|
to arouse or bring out (eg feelings); to stimulate
|
to cause an electron to move to a higher than normal state
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading
- excite in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- excite in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛk.sit/
Verb
excite
- inflection of exciter:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ekˈskiː.te/, [ɛkˈs̠kiːt̪ɛ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ekˈʃi.te/, [ekˈʃiːt̪e]
Verb
excīte
- second-person plural present active imperative of exciō
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /eˈsi.t͡ʃi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /eˈsi.te/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): (careful pronunciation) /ɐjʃˈsi.t(ɨ)/, (natural pronunciation) /ɐjˈʃi.t(ɨ)/
- (Central Portugal) IPA(key): (careful pronunciation) /ejʃˈsi.t(ɨ)/, (natural pronunciation) /ejˈʃi.t(ɨ)/
- (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): (careful pronunciation) /eʃˈsi.t(ɨ)/, (natural pronunciation) /eˈʃi.t(ɨ)/
Verb
excite
- inflection of excitar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [eksˈt͡ʃite]
Verb
excite
- third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of excita
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /eɡsˈθite/ [eɣ̞sˈθi.t̪e]
- IPA(key): (Latin America) /eɡˈsite/ [eɣ̞ˈsi.t̪e]
- Rhymes: -ite
- Syllabification: ex‧ci‧te
Verb
excite
- inflection of excitar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative