EXCITEMENT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does excitement mean? 

• EXCITEMENT (noun)
  The noun EXCITEMENT has 4 senses:

1. the feeling of lively and cheerful joy

2. the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up

3. something that agitates and arouses

4. disturbance usually in protest

  Familiarity information: EXCITEMENT used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXCITEMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The feeling of lively and cheerful joy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

excitement; exhilaration

Context example:

he could hardly conceal his excitement when she agreed

Hypernyms ("excitement" is a kind of...):

joy; joyfulness; joyousness (the emotion of great happiness)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "excitement"):

bang; boot; charge; flush; kick; rush; thrill (the swift release of a store of affective force)

intoxication (excitement and elation beyond the bounds of sobriety)

titillation (a tingling feeling of excitement (as from teasing or tickling))

Derivation:

excite (arouse or elicit a feeling)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of being emotionally aroused and worked up

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

excitation; excitement; fervor; fervour; inflammation

Context example:

he tried to calm those who were in a state of extreme inflammation

Hypernyms ("excitement" is a kind of...):

emotional arousal (the arousal of strong emotions and emotional behavior)

Attribute:

exciting (creating or arousing excitement)

unexciting (not exciting)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "excitement"):

fever pitch (a state of extreme excitement)

sensation (a state of widespread public excitement and interest)

Derivation:

excite (stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of)

excite (arouse or elicit a feeling)

excite (stir feelings in)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Something that agitates and arouses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

excitation; excitement

Context example:

he looked forward to the excitements of the day

Hypernyms ("excitement" is a kind of...):

arousal; rousing (the act of arousing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "excitement"):

chiller; hair-raiser (excitation that makes your hair stand up or that chills your bones)

thrill (something that causes you to experience a sudden intense feeling or sensation)

Derivation:

excite (act as a stimulant)

excite (cause to be agitated, excited, or roused)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Disturbance usually in protest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

agitation; excitement; hullabaloo; turmoil; upheaval

Hypernyms ("excitement" is a kind of...):

disturbance (the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion)

 Context examples 

In my excitement I had not been taking notice of other things, and I looked up to see the lord of the harem charging down upon me.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Glancing at Holmes, I saw his face turn rigid, and he leaned forward in intense excitement.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In his excitement he fell in, wetting himself to the waist.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The excitement into which he had been roused was leaving him.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

December will foretell the beauty and excitement that is to come to you in your New Year, 2020.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

At sight of the crowd they stopped their dogs and came over and joined it, curious to see the cause of the excitement.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

A feeling of freedom from agitation or excitement.

(Calm, NCI Thesaurus)

The Prime Minister’s manner was subdued, but I could see by the gleam of his eyes and the twitchings of his bony hands that he shared the excitement of his young colleague.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This time, even when marmosets were administered the treatment to make area 25 over-active, they still showed excitement and anticipation at the reward.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

They share a similar, growing excitement as New Horizons begins its approach to Pluto.

(NASA Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Crosses Neptune's Orbit, NASA)