What does excitableness mean?
Excitableness is a noun denoting the quality of being excitable — an enduring tendency to become easily aroused, stirred, or emotionally agitated. A person or animal marked by excitableness responds readily and often intensely to stimulation, whether that takes the form of enthusiasm, nervous energy, or irritability. The word is a relatively uncommon alternative to the far more frequent "excitability," which is preferred both in everyday speech and in technical fields such as physiology, where it describes the responsiveness of nerves and muscles to stimuli. Excitableness is neutral in tone: the same trait may read as spirited liveliness in one context and as jittery restlessness in another. Like other abstract nouns ending in "-ness," it is uncountable and typically appears in descriptive or slightly formal prose. It derives ultimately from the Latin citare, "to set in motion," via the English verb "excite."
nounThe quality or state of being excitable; a tendency to become easily aroused, agitated, or emotionally stimulated.
- The personality trait or temperament of being easily aroused, excited, or agitated.
"The puppy's excitableness made the quiet afternoon anything but calm."
"His natural excitableness made him a lively, if sometimes exhausting, dinner companion."
"The vet noted the dog's excitableness and recommended more vigorous daily exercise."
Extremely rare; excitableness functions as an uncountable abstract noun and is almost never used in the plural.
"The study compared the excitablenesses of different breeds, though most writers would simply speak of their relative excitability."
"Excitableness" loses a popularity contest to its sibling "excitability" — but both trace back to the same Latin verb that gave us "cite" and "recite": citare, "to set in motion."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of excitableness
Excitableness is formed from the adjective "excitable" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ness." "Excitable" in turn comes from the verb "excite," borrowed from Latin excitare, a frequentative form of ciere meaning "to arouse, call forth, or set in motion." The same Latin root citare produced English cognates such as "cite," "incite," "recite," and "solicit" (via Latin sollicitare, "to disturb"). The word has been part of English since at least the eighteenth century as a derivative formation alongside "excitability."
Related word forms
How excitableness is actually used
Excitableness is a somewhat rare and formal variant of the much more common "excitability." It carries no strong positive or negative connotation on its own; context determines whether the ease of arousal described is charming vivacity or troublesome volatility. It is almost always uncountable.
Easily confused with excitableness
Excitability is the far more common term for the same trait, especially in scientific contexts such as physiology, where it refers specifically to the capacity of cells or tissues to respond to stimuli.
Excitement is the state of being aroused or thrilled at a given moment, whereas excitableness is the enduring disposition to enter that state easily.