n.
Pronunciation: ik- ' s ī t, ek-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form: ex · cit · ed ; ex · cit · ing
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
– ex · cit · ed · ly \ - ' s ī -t ə d-l ē \ adverb