What does excitement mean?
Excitement is a noun describing a state of heightened emotion — a blend of enthusiasm, anticipation, and thrill often accompanied by physical signs such as a quickened pulse or restless energy. It most commonly denotes the feeling a person experiences when awaiting or witnessing something stimulating, as in the excitement before an announcement or a match. Less frequently, it can refer to the source of that feeling itself: one might speak of the excitements of travel or of city life, meaning the stimulating experiences on offer. The word carries a strongly positive connotation in everyday use, though it can occasionally suggest overwrought or agitated emotion in more formal contexts. Derived from the Latin excitare, meaning to stir up or call forth, it entered English in the early modern period and remains one of the most versatile terms for emotional arousal, pairing naturally with words like buzz, wave, and sense.
A feeling of great enthusiasm, eagerness, or thrill; the condition of being emotionally aroused.
"She felt a surge of excitement as the curtain rose."
Usually uncountable; takes partitive constructions like 'a sense of' or 'a wave of.'
A source or instance of thrilling stimulation; an exciting experience or activity.
"He moved to the coast for the sun, the surf, and other excitements."
Typically used in the plural in this sense.
The plural refers to exciting experiences or sources of stimulation rather than multiple feelings, and appears mostly in somewhat literary or formal contexts.
"The guidebook promised the excitements of nightlife, cuisine, and carnival."
The word 'excitement' shares its Latin root with 'incite' — to excite literally means to 'call out' or summon something into motion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of excitement
Excitement derives from the Latin verb excitare, meaning 'to stir up, rouse, or call out,' formed from ex- ('out') plus citare ('to summon'), which also gives English cite and incite. The word entered English in the early 17th century, initially carrying broader senses of stirring into action before settling chiefly into its emotional meaning. Its relatives include the adjective exciting, the past participle excited, and the cognate incitement, all tracing back to the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How excitement is actually used
'Excitement' is neutral to positive in connotation and common in both formal and informal registers. In plural form it usually means 'thrilling activities or experiences' rather than multiple instances of the feeling.
Easily confused with excitement
Excitement is typically a pleasurable or eager arousal, while agitation implies anxious or restless disturbance.
Stimulation refers to the act of rousing activity or response (physical or mental), whereas excitement names the emotional state that results.