excitable

adjective

ex·​cit·​able ik-ˈsī-tə-bəl How to pronounce excitable (audio)
1
: capable of being readily roused into action or a state of excitement or irritability
2
: capable of being activated by and reacting to stimuli
excitable cells
excitability noun
excitableness noun

Examples of excitable in a Sentence

an excitable child who needs a stable home life
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Alain Delon plays his excitable, passionate nephew, and the luminous Claudia Cardinale the daughter of a local bureaucrat whose romance with Delon becomes the vessel by which the Prince’s family will maintain its power in the future. Kevin Lincoln, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025 As an actor, Branagh has a voice that’s high, excitable, and light, and his physicality possesses a tomcat sneakiness. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2024 There are no gilded gates here, but there is one heck of a party, complete with serenading busts, ballroom dancers, excitable opera singers, drunken buffoonery and portraits locked in an endless duel. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025 Our excitable friends would indeed be correct that a theoretical 25 percent tariff across the board would have an adverse effect on business aviation. Brian Foley, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for excitable 

Word History

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of excitable was in 1609

Dictionary Entries Near excitable

Cite this Entry

“Excitable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excitable. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

excitable

adjective
ex·​cit·​able ik-ˈsīt-ə-bəl How to pronounce excitable (audio)
1
: easily excited
2
: capable of being excited
excitability noun

Medical Definition

excitable

adjective
ex·​cit·​able ik-ˈsīt-ə-bəl How to pronounce excitable (audio)
of living tissue or an organism
: capable of being activated by and reacting to stimuli : exhibiting irritability
the biochemistry of excitable membranesScience
excitability noun
plural excitabilities

More from Merriam-Webster on excitable

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