Overexcite

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To stimulate emotional states to an extreme degree, causing agitation or distress, while eliciting an uncontrollable level of enthusiasm or excitement
2. To provoke a person or animal to a state of extreme excitement or agitation beyond normal levels
3. To arouse or excite feelings or physical reactions to a degree that surpasses usual limits

Etymology: "Overexcite" is a plain formation: the prefix "over-", meaning "beyond or too much," attached to "excite." The prefix descends from Old English "ofer," which carried the sense of "above" or "across" and is related to the same ancient root that gave us words like "upper" and "super" in other languages. Its meaning drifted from literal height or position toward the idea of excess, which is why "overexcite" reads as "excite beyond the proper amount." "Excite" itself came into English from Latin "excitare," meaning "to rouse, call forth, or stir up," built from "ex-" ("out") and "citare" ("to set in motion"). The combined word therefore pictures someone or something being roused and stirred out of a calm state, and "overexcite" simply pushes that stirring past the point of comfort or control.

Synonyms: agitate, stimulate

Antonyms: calm, soothe