excitement
noun
Simple meaning
Being emotionally aroused and worked up.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihksytmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪkˈsaɪtmənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
“His face was flushed with excitement and his hands trembled.”
Something that agitates and arouses
“He looked forward to the excitements of the day.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
Used this way, excitement is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His face was flushed with excitement and his hands trembled.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- excitation , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Emotionallynoun
“His face was flushed with excitement and his hands trembled.”
Agitatesnoun
“He looked forward to the excitements of the day.”
More ways to use excitement
- “His face was flushed with excitement and his hands trembled.”noun
- “He looked forward to the excitements of the day.”noun
- “He could hardly conceal his excitement when she agreed.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
A mental state of extreme emotional disturbance.
The state of being enlivened, cheerful or exhilarated.
A state of great disorder or uncertainty.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: being emotionally aroused and worked up
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.