U

excite

verb (used with object), ex·cit·ed, ex·cit·ing.

to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of: to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father’s wrath.
to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings): to excite jealousy or hatred.
to cause; awaken: to excite interest or curiosity.
to stir to action; provoke or stir up: to excite a dog by baiting him.
Physiology. to stimulate: to excite a nerve.
Electricity. to supply with electricity for producing electric activity or a magnetic field: to excite a dynamo.
Physics. to raise (an atom, molecule, etc.) to an excited state.

verb (tr)

to arouse (a person) to strong feeling, esp to pleasurable anticipation or nervous agitation
to arouse or elicit (an emotion, response, etc); evokeher answers excited curiosity
to cause or bring about; stir upto excite a rebellion
to arouse sexually
physiol to cause a response in or increase the activity of (an organ, tissue, or part); stimulate
to raise (an atom, molecule, electron, nucleus, etc) from the ground state to a higher energy level
to supply electricity to (the coils of a generator or motor) in order to create a magnetic field
to supply a signal to a stage of an active electronic circuit

mid-14c., “to move, stir up, instigate,” from Old French esciter (12c.) or directly from Latin excitare “rouse, call out, summon forth, produce,” frequentative of exciere “call forth, instigate,” from ex- “out” (see ex-) + ciere “set in motion, call” (see cite). Of feelings, from late 14c. Of bodily organs or tissues, from 1831. Main modern sense of “emotionally agitate” is first attested 1821.