ex ‧ cit ‧ ed /ɪkˈsaɪtəd, ɪkˈsaɪtɪd/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ excitable , ↑ excited , ↑ exciting ≠ ↑ unexciting , ↑ excitable ; noun : ↑ excitement , ↑ excitability ; adverb : ↑ excitedly , ↑ excitingly ; verb : ↑ excite ]
1 . happy, interested, or hopeful because something good has happened or will happen:
Steve flies home tomorrow – we’re all really excited.
excited about
Maria’s starting to get pretty excited about the wedding.
excited by/at
We’re all excited by the prospect of a party.
excited to do something
Michelle sounded excited to hear from him.
excited (that)
I’m so excited that we’re going to New York.
The food was nothing to get excited about (=not very good or special) .
excited crowds of shoppers
2 . very nervous and upset about something so that you cannot relax
excited about
There’s no point getting excited about it. We can’t change things.
3 . feeling sexual desire
—excitedly adverb :
People had gathered and were talking excitedly.
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THESAURUS
▪ excited feeling happy, especially about something good that has happened or is going to happen:
He’s excited about his new job.
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The kids always get excited on their birthday.
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An excited crowd watched their team win 3–0.
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When we get home, the dogs are always excited to see us.
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Doctors are very excited by the discovery.
▪ thrilled /θrɪld/ [not before noun] very excited and pleased:
She was thrilled to hear that you were in London.
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I was thrilled when they told me that I’d got a place on the course.
▪ exhilarated /ɪɡˈzɪləreɪtəd, ɪɡˈzɪləreɪtɪd/ [not before noun] very excited and full of energy, especially because you are experiencing something new or something that involves risks:
She felt exhilarated by her new freedom.
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The climb left him feeling exhilarated.
▪ look forward to something to feel excited about something good that is going to happen and to think about it a lot:
The kids are looking forward to their vacation – they’ve never been to California before.
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She’s really looking forward to meeting him.
▪ can’t wait to do something especially spoken to be very excited about something good that is going to happen:
I can’t wait to see him again.
▪ on the edge of your seat extremely excited and interested when you are watching a film, game etc, because you do not know what is going to happen next:
I was on the edge of my seat throughout the movie.
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The game kept fans on the edge of their seats.
▪ on tenterhooks /ˈtentəhʊks $ -ər-/ very excited and nervous because you are waiting to find out what has happened:
Don’t keep us on tenterhooks! Did you pass your test?
▪ rapturous [usually before noun] especially written rapturous behaviour shows that a large group of people are extremely excited and pleased:
They received a rapturous welcome.
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He came on the stage to rapturous applause (=everyone was clapping and cheering) .