exciting
/ɪkˈsʌɪtɪŋ/
exciting is the present participle and gerund of excite.
Adjective
exciting (comparative more exciting, superlative most exciting)
- Creating or producing excitement.
- Some of the most exciting games ever played have ended in draws.1955 January, “Chess Caviar”, in Chess Review
- Sexually stimulating.
- Among the Turks, an exciting compound consists of olibanum, myrrh, camphor, musk, in pulverized form. The resultant perfume is said to affect the genitals.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 168
Meaning of excite
Verb
excite (third-person singular simple present excites, present participle exciting, simple past and past participle excited)
- To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement.
- The fireworks which opened the festivities excited anyone present.
- To arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
- Favoritism tends to excite jealousy in the ones not being favored.
- To cause an electron to move to a higher than normal state; to promote an electron to an outer level.
- By applying electric potential to the neon atoms, the electrons become excited, then emit a photon when returning to normal.
- To energize (an electromagnet); to produce a magnetic field in.
- to excite a dynamo
Noun
exciting (plural excitings)
- The process of something becoming excited; excitation.
- But parents and masters should make haste in this, as to a great purchase for their children and servants; which while they defer, both sides suffer; the one, in wanting many excitings of grace, the other, in being worse served and obeyed.1855, George Herbert, The Complete Works of George Herbert
Synonyms of exciting
- absorbing
- alacrifying
- awesome
- banging
- bracing
- hot
- compelling
- distracting
- dramatic
- edge-of-the-seat
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- engrossing
- electric
- electrifying
- enlivening
- enthralling
- exhilarating
- exhilarative
- explosive
- fascinating
- hair-curling
- hair-raising
- heady
- heart-pounding
- heartstopping
- heartswelling
- intoxicating
- gripping
- impressive
- inspiring
- invigorating
- jiggy
- kicky
- mind-blowing
- moving
- off the chain
- pulse-pounding
- pulsating
- rip-roaring
- riveting
- rousing
Antonyms
Forms of exciting
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more exciting |
| superlative | most exciting |
| Noun | |
| plural | excitings |
Words formed from exciting
Questions about exciting
- What does exciting mean?
- Exciting means creating or producing excitement.
- What is exciting the present participle and gerund of?
- Exciting is the present participle and gerund of excite.
- What part of speech is exciting?
- Exciting can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce exciting?
- Exciting is pronounced /ɪkˈsʌɪtɪŋ/.
Words near exciting in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: exciting (page history and authors); excite (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-exciting.ogg.
Cite this entry: “exciting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/exciting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.