Excitingly
Part of speech: adverb
Definitions
- In a way that arouses great enthusiasm and interest
- In a manner that brings about heightened excitement and engagement
- Expressing an action or event that generates intense anticipation or eagerness
Etymology: "Excitingly" is a plain formation: the adjective "exciting" with the suffix "-ly" added to turn it into an adverb. The suffix itself goes back a long way. It descends from a Proto-Germanic form meaning "body" or "form," which through Proto-West Germanic and Old English "-līce" came to mean "in the manner of," and the same suffix is found in ordinary words like "quickly" and "boldly." Middle English shortened it to "-ly," which is the form English uses today. The adjective "exciting" is the older element here, built from the verb "excite," which entered English from Latin "excitare," meaning "to rouse or call forth." Adding "-ly" to a participle-based adjective like this is a routine step, so the word needs no special story; it simply describes doing something in a way that stirs up feeling.
Synonyms: thrillfully, stimulatingly