stimulate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin stimulātus, perfect passive participle of stimulō (“to urge, goad on”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin stimulus (“a sting or prick; a stimulus, goad”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈstɪm.jʊ.leɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈstɪm.jəˌleɪt/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Verb

stimulate (third-person singular simple present stimulates, present participle stimulating, simple past and past participle stimulated)

1. To encourage into action.

   Synonyms: encourage, induce, incite, provoke; see also Thesaurus:incite

   stimulate the economy

   • 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter II, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 18:

     To most others Lord Allerton's obvious preference for Mary would have been an insuperable obstacle; it only served to stimulate her ladyship.

2. To arouse an organism to functional activity.

   Synonyms: animate, arouse, energize, energise, excite, perk up; see also Thesaurus:enliven

   Synonyms: de-energize, sedate, stifle

   stimulate my mind

   He was sexually stimulated by the dancer's moves.

Derived terms

• biostimulate
• colony-stimulating factor
• costimulate
• destimulate
• electrostimulate
• follicle-stimulating hormone
• follicle stimulating hormone
• granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor
• hyperstimulate
• instimulate
• melanocyte-stimulating hormone
• microstimulate
• overstimulate
• restimulate
• self-stimulate
• superstimulate
• thyroid-stimulating hormone
• understimulate

Related terms

• stimulant
• stimulation
• stimulator
• stimulatory
• stimulus

Translations

to encourage into action

• Armenian: գրգռել (hy) (grgṙel)
• Belarusian: стымулява́ць impf or pf (stymuljavácʹ)
• Bulgarian: подбу́ждам (bg) (podbúždam)
• Catalan: estimular (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刺激 (zh) (cìjī)

• Czech: podnítit
• Dutch: stimuleren (nl), aansporen (nl), prikkelen (nl)
• Esperanto: stimuli
• Finnish: piristää (fi), yllyttää (fi), ärsyttää (fi), elvyttää (fi) (the economy, etc.), stimuloida (fi)
• French: stimuler (fr)
• Galician: estimular (gl)
• German: stimulieren (de)
• Greek: παρακινώ (el) (parakinó), παροτρύνω (el) (parotrýno)

  Ancient: ἐρεθίζω (erethízō)

• Hungarian: elősegít (hu)
• Italian: stimolare (it)
• Japanese: 刺激する (ja) (しげきする, shigeki suru)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: hander kirin f

• Latin: commoveō (la)
• Maltese: ħeġġeġ
• Maori: whakahohe, whakaihiihi, whakahihiko, whakamanawa, whakahihiko
• Norman: stînmuler
• Occitan: estimular (oc)
• Persian: انگیختن (fa), برانگیختن (fa), تَحرِیک کردن (fa), تَشوِیق کردن (fa)
• Polish: stymulować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: estimular (pt), incentivar (pt)
• Romanian: stimula (ro)
• Russian: стимули́ровать (ru) (stimulírovatʹ)
• Spanish: estimular (es)
• Swedish: egga (sv), reta (sv), sporra (sv)
• Ukrainian: стимулюва́ти impf or pf (stymuljuváty)

to arouse an organism to functional activity

• Albanian: stimuloj (sq)
• Armenian: գրգռել (hy) (grgṙel)
• Bulgarian: стимулирам (bg) (stimuliram)
• Catalan: estimular (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刺激 (zh) (cìjī)

• Dutch: stimuleren (nl), prikkelen (nl)
• Esperanto: stimuli
• Finnish: kiihottaa (fi), elvyttää (fi), stimuloida (fi)
• French: stimuler (fr)
• German: stimulieren (de)
• Greek: διεγείρω (el) (diegeíro)
• Italian: stimolare (it)
• Japanese: 刺激する (ja) (しげきする, shigeki suru)
• Norman: stînmuler
• Persian: تحریکیدن
• Portuguese: estimular (pt)
• Romanian: stimula (ro)
• Russian: стимули́ровать (ru) (stimulírovatʹ)
• Spanish: estimular (es)
• Swedish: ge näring åt, pigga upp (sv), stimulera (sv), väcka (sv)
• Ukrainian: збу́джувати impf (zbúdžuvaty), збуди́ти pf (zbudýty)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} merangsang (id)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} stimular

Anagrams

• multiseat, mutilates, ultimates

Esperanto

Adverb

stimulate

1. present adverbial passive participle of stimuli

Latin

Verb

stimulāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of stimulō